Malaysia's very first anthology of piano compositions truly describes the growing pool of Malaysian piano compositions written over the past decade. This pioneer collection of original works spans composers from different backgrounds and ages, from various parts of the country from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu in the east to Penang in the north.
This musical survey, which has been in the planning for several years, was the culmination of the country's first ever contemporary composers piano festival Free Hand 2019, featuring BBC Music Magazine's Best Newcomer award winner of 2013, Mei Yi Foo, who premiered a number of works in this volume.
The musical styles are as diverse as Malaysia's people themselves, colourful, contrasting, exciting and refreshing. From post minimalist to neo expressionist and beyond, the breadth of the compositions here provides an insightful glimpse into the world of 21st Century music in a country so young.
The sound world ranges from rhythmically potent to broadly contemplative, traversing worlds of colour, emotion, sonic exploration and the stretching of compositional forms and techniques handed down from past generations of classical composers.
Experience the darting motion of herring or the ghostly shimmer of stars long extinct, Webernesque miniatures of driving rhythms, meditations of the Malay pantun or the telling of a historical Malaccan battle, the footprints left behind by memories and the contemplations of cosmopolitan estrangement, a Chinese wife's last act of duty, the toil of the working class, echoes of kadazandusun gongs...
You are invited to immerse yourself in this kaleidoscopic musical journey through the Malaysian music landscape, and to try a hand at playing these pieces of yourselves.
Malaysia
