Bright Sheng - Silent Temple

Fono Forum: outstanding.

This album features chamber music by Bright Sheng, blending Chinese folk traditions with Western classical forms. Performed by the Shanghai Quartet, Bright Sheng on piano, Wu Man on pipa, and Nicholas Tzavaras on cello, the album includes Four Movements for Piano Trio, a dynamic work inspired by Asian folk traditions, String Quartet No. 3, a tribute to a Tibetan folk dance that develops into an elegy, Three Songs for Pipa and Cello, written for Yo-Yo Ma and Wu Man and featuring haunting folk melodies, and String Quartet No. 4 Silent Temple, inspired by an abandoned Buddhist temple in China. The album showcases Bright Sheng’s signature style with virtuoso performances, offering a fusion of Eastern and Western influences through folk traditions, nostalgia, and storytelling.