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            Being one of the most prominent classical music composers from China, Chinese-American composer, Bright Sheng has composed numerous works to continuously present the Chinese culture through his voice. With his fusion of Chinese and Western cultures deeply rooted, Sheng particularly was drawn by Bela Bartok. The essay Sheng himself wrote, “Bartok, the Chinese Composer” expresses his insightful study and admiration for Bartok’s idiom of folk music. As few scholars have made this connection, it is significant to relate Sheng’s composition to Bartok’s. Therefore, I propose an argument that focuses on Bright Sheng’s utilization and musical idiom of Chinese folk tunes and cultural engagement through his composition the Stream Flows for solo violin, and also Bela Bartok’s stylistic influence on Sheng’s cultural expression. The connection is particularly explored and demonstrated with a comparison between Sheng’s the Stream Flows for solo violin and Bartok’s Sonata for solo violin. A statement by Sheng was preciously and brilliantly put in his essay,

“a true musical fusion can only happen at its deepest level when both elements retain their original qualities, and when the composer possesses the most profound understanding and knowledge of both cultures. Thus the music of earth never dies.”[1]

Yes, this is why music matters – because it profoundly preserves our cultures and civilization. It is even true for composers like Bright Sheng and Bela Bartok. 

by Xiangyuan Huang

[1] Bright Sheng, “Bartok, the Chinese Composer,” 1997, accessed on 8 April 2019, http://brightsheng.com/articles/essayfilesbybs/BARTOK.pdf2.