Willi März

Yangtze River

Willi März originally composed this work in 2007 under the title 'Weiwei's Tune' for an unusual duo instrumentation of zither and yangchin, the Chinese dulcimer. He wrote it for several joint concerts in Japan with Weiwei Zhang, a renowned yangchin player from Shanghai. The work was very successful and so Willi März decided to arrange this music for large wind orchestra as well. In this way, a kind of musical journey was created that follows the course of the Yangtze River. The listeners experience impressive landscapes, pass magnificent palaces and accompany the Yangtze through the mysterious land. In the main theme, the composer uses the typical Chinese pentatonic. The sounds are reminiscent of the rich ornamentation of Chinese stately buildings. The lively melody line is accompanied by drums and bells, which are important elements of music in the 'Middle Kingdom'. In the broadest sense, YANGTZE RIVER can also be understood as film music without film: It is left to the listeners - but also to the musicians - to imagine the corresponding images.