In Saturday’s (4/16) San Diego Union-Tribune, James Chute reports, “San Diego composer and UCSD faculty member Lei Liang has been named a winner of the prestigious 2011 Rome Prize. The awards, given by the 116-year old American Academy in Rome, recognized 30 individuals ‘who represent the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.’ Liang, one of six members of UCSD’s internationally acclaimed composition faculty, won the Elliott Carter Rome Prize for his Sextet and Chamber Concerto. A second composer, Sean Friar, a doctoral fellow at Princeton University, won the Samuel Barber Rome Prize for his Clunker Concerto, a Percussion Quartet Concerto (for junk car parts and orchestra). … Liang’s music is often considered in the company of other contemporary, Chinese-born composers, including Chen Yi, Bright Sheng and Tan Dun. But his highly individual compositional style, with its emphasis on subtle tone colors, doesn’t necessarily sound Chinese; nor does it sound Western. … Among his recent premieres are the New York Philharmonic’s performance of ‘Verge’ and the Shanghai Quartet and Wu Man’s performance of ‘Five Seasons.’ New World Records released a CD of his work, ‘Milou,’ earlier this month.”
Posted April 20, 2011
