CD Review: Victoria Bond - originally published in the Journal of the IAWM Volume 8, No. 3, 2002

"Live From Shanghai"
Works by Victoria Bond, Liu Tingyu, Tchaikovsky and Sousa.
Protone Records NRPR 2205.

This live recording features the versatile American composer and conductor, Victoria Bond with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The CD notably includes the premiere of two new orchestral works; Thinking Like a Mountain composed and conducted by Bond along with The Su-San Suite written by Liu Tingyu and conducted by Chen Xieyang.

Thinking Like a Mountain is a single movement work commissioned collectively by Elgin Symphony; the Shanghai Symphony; Billings Symphony and Explorer Park, Virginia. It received its premiere performance in Roanoke Virginia, 1994, to commemorate the opening of Explorer Park. The work was inspired by an essay (adapted by Curt Meine) of the same name written by Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), an American environmentalist. The English text, which is included in the liner notes, is interwoven with descriptive orchestral music based on the variation of four pitches from a Chinese folk melody. Thinking Like a Mountain begins simply with a magical mood evoking the past, gradually the orchestral texture thickens to herald the entry of the narrator, Cui Wen. Descending motives, which are present for most of the work, create a sense of loss and tragedy

The story focuses on Leopold as a young hunter who kills a wolf and is changed by the experience of witnessing the wolf die. The hunter realizes that all of life is interconnected and becomes an advocate for environmental preservation. While Bond did not intend to write a programmatic work, the image of howling wolves may be felt in the string glissandi. The changing life cycles of the mountain are characterized by the diminution and augmentation of musical ideas. Generally, the orchestral writing is accessible and effectively compliments the text. Wen's narration is clearly articulated, well paced and rarely overpowered by the orchestral writing.

Bond is to be commended for addressing the issue of environmental preservation within the tradition of Western art music. The issues which Leopold addresses in the early part of the Twentieth-century, such as the commodification of natural resources, environmental responsibility and world peace are still relevant for listeners today. Hopefully this work will receive many performances and result in further awareness about these issues. Due to the nature of the text, this music is not only meant to entertain but rather a call to the citizens of the earth to evaluate their priorities and make lifestyle changes so that all creatures may live in peace. The work ends optimistically with the addition of brass instruments and ascending melodic lines.

The CD begins with Su-San Suite which is in three movements; The Exile, Recollection of Love and The Complaint. This Suite is dramatic and colourful due to the careful use of percussion which adds a unique flavour to the music. Liu Tingyu is highly regarded in China as a ballet music composer. Also included on the CD are Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 "Pathetique" and as an encore, Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa. Both works are conducted by Bond.

At first glance, the items comprising this CD seemed quite distant from each other in terms of style. However, upon listening to the CD as a whole, the lush orchestration and use of exoticism reminiscent of the Nineteenth-century seemed to be a unifying feature. Excellent liner notes provide interesting information about the composers, conductors and the history of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.