Son Of The Sun - Zhu Liang Town Artistic Characteristics Of The Art Song Concert

Since the reform and openness policy, there have appeared numerous composers of art songs in China. Many of them experienced the historic turning points of Cultural Revolution and economic reform. As a result, the evolution of their music styles, from the early stage of their career to the more mature late phase, bears the obvious trademarks of their times. These composers are both loyal reflectors of those epoch-making transformations in China and catalysts facilitating the further development of the country's music industry. As a prominent art song producer, Zhu Liangzhen is one such composer. Through interviews of Zhu, I hope to truthfully reflect on the changes in his mentality, consciousness and notions in music composition. This will enable the singers better understand the composer's intentions, making re-production more meaningful. This methodology is different from the conventional approach which makes inference about a composer's intentions by researching and studying the various uncertain information and materials such as literatures, reports, contents of works and historical background. Based on my consultation with the supervisor and Zhu himself, a consensus was reached about the merits of the current research approach. Thus, through a general discussion of Zhu's music composition, his notions in art song production, and a singing-analysis of his representative works, this thesis systematically studies the composer and his works. It intends to truthfully and accurately record and critique Zhu's career in artistic creation and accomplishments.