BMOP/sound Releases Two New Albums to End 2018: Lei Liang and William Schuman

Lei Liang: A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams

Composer: Lei Liang (b.1972)

Performers: Gao Hong (pipa), Chien-Kwan Lin (saxophone), and BMOP led by Gil Rose

Release Date: November 27, 2018

TRT: 57:06

Works: A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams, Xiaoxiang, Five Seasons

William Schuman: The Witch of Endor

Composer: William Schuman (1910-1992)

Performers: BMOP led by Gil Rose?

Release Date: December 4, 2018

TRT: 81:41

Works: The Witch of Endor, Judith, Choreographic Poem, Night Journey

Boston, MA (For Release 12.04.18) — Known as the nation’s foremost label launched by an orchestra and devoted exclusively to new music, BMOP/sound today announced two new albums to be released before the end of the year: Lei Liang: A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams (TBR 11.27.18), and William Schuman: The Witch of Endor (TBR 12.11.18). Both are performed by the intrepid musicians of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and led by conductor Gil Rose.

Chinese-born American composer Lei Liang is known for his ear-stretching soundscapes, and for drawing from Chinese history. Opening the album is Liang’s largest orchestral work to date, the eponymous A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams. The title refers to the idea of an object or phenomenon embodying multiple identities, shifting with the perception of the viewer; it references on another level the kaleidoscopic diversity of Liang’s home country. The piece is a kind of fantasia on the work of the literati (ink wash) painter and aesthetician Huang Binhong (family name Huang; 1865-1955), one of the most significant Chinese artists of his era. 

“BMOP is honored to pay homage to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Schuman, a true leader both in and out of the concert hall,” said Gil Rose, BMOP/sound’s Executive Producer. As an educator (president of the Juilliard School) and administrator (founding president of Lincoln Center), Schuman championed American music, composers, and performers. William Schuman: The Witch of Endor includes three of the composer’s collaborations with dancer/choreographer Martha Graham. Judith, Choreographic Poem was commissioned in 1949 and Night Journey in 1946—both works revolve around murder and aptly embody a bleak darkness. The third piece, The Witch of Endor (1965), Graham commissioned as a birthday gift to herself, about the biblical story of Saul and a seer.

About BMOP/sound         
BMOP/sound, BMOP’s independent record label, was created in 2008 to provide a platform for BMOP’s extensive archive of music, as well as to provide widespread, top-quality, permanent access to both classics of the 20th century and the music of today’s most innovative composers. BMOP/sound has garnered praise from the national and international press; it is the recipient of six Grammy Award nominations and its releases have appeared on the year-end “Best of” lists of The New York Times, The Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Time Out New York, American Record Guide, DownBeat Magazine, WBUR, NewMusicBox, and others. Admired, praised, and sought after by artists, presenters, critics, and audiophiles, BMOP and BMOP/sound are uniquely positioned to redefine the new music concert and recording experience. BMOPsound.org