Chinese composer Ma Si-cong (with the accent on the "Si" especially pronounced, to avoid confusion with another violinist/composer better known for his political activities) was one of China's most gifted composers of classical music and revered as a teacher. The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s brought him into conflict with the aforementioned violinist and composer -- Mao TseTung or ZeDong -- and sent Ma packing to the U.S. at night on a freight ship. Ma died a fish out of water in the U.S. and was reviled in ...
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Chinese composer Ma Si-cong (with the accent on the "Si" especially pronounced, to avoid confusion with another violinist/composer better known for his political activities) was one of China's most gifted composers of classical music and revered as a teacher. The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s brought him into conflict with the aforementioned violinist and composer -- Mao TseTung or ZeDong -- and sent Ma packing to the U.S. at night on a freight ship. Ma died a fish out of water in the U.S. and was reviled in some quarters as a traitor and coward, though since his death there has been a concerted effort in China to reclaim his work, which is absolutely central to Chinese concert violin literature. Like its companion volume, this Naxos release, Ma Si-cong: Music for Violin and Piano 2, once again brings the talents of Chinese violinist Hsiao-mei Ku, once a student of Ma, to bear on his output, and if anything it is better than the first volume. The opening Spring Dance (1953) grabs one's...
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