West Meets East

 West Meets East
 
West Meets East is an album by clarinetist Jun Qian, featuring music by western composers influenced by Chinese culture. Featured on the album is Paul Sánchez' Free Translations of Li Ch'ing Chao, a song cycle on three poems of Li Ch'ing Chao translated by Dr. Luke Taylor. For detailed discussions, see Dr. Luke Taylor's Program Notes from the Translator, and Paul Sánchez' Program Notes from the Composer. 
​
"[Free Translations is] beautiful and affecting"
– American Record Guide
​
"Repetitive piano figurations ebb and flow across each movement, expressing each stage of life eloquently. “Old Age” creates a particularly effective emotional shift with dark and openly voiced piano chords."
– The Clarinet Journal (International Clarinet Association)
​
TRACK LISTING
​
1–2. Monkey King for B-flat Clarinet & Fixed Media
3. Arabesque for Solo Clarinet
4. Funk Shui for Clarinet & Bass Clarinet
5. Azure Dragon of the East for B-flat Clarinet & Percussion
6–8. Free Translations of Li-Ch'ing-Chao: Three Musical Settings for Clarinet, Soprano & Piano
9. New York Improvisatory Dialogue II for Clarinet & Sheng
10. Su Counterpoint for Clarinet, Percussion & Zheng
​
RELEASE INFORMATION
​
Albany Records, 2017.