The Italian premiere of Guo Wenjing’s Shèxì, concerto for violin and orchestra, is slated for this October 7 at the Venice Biennale Musica. Soloist Hae Sun Kang joins the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, conducted by Yoichi Sugiyama. 

Shèxì was commissioned by the prestigious Tibor Varga International Violin Competition 2013 as the year’s compulsory piece. It premiered that August, in a performance featuring the competition’s finalists.  
The piece is comprised of two movements. Its title is taken from the Chinese term for theatrical performances at village festivals of the past. The two movements are in strong contrast: one is dark and brooding, the other is bright and bouncy; one conjures up inhospitable mountains, the other delights in festive market scenes; one is female, the other is male.    
To put it in exquisitely Chinese terms, one is yin and one is yang. 


Shèxì
Concerto for violin and orchestra (2013)
Instrumentation: picc. fl/picc 2.2.2 / 2.2.0.0 / perc (1) strings
Duration: 15'