Lei Liang

The title of this composition, A Kite over the Grassland, might seem like a surreal image. Full disclosure: I have never actually seen a kite in the Mongolian grassland. But the title is not meant to be silly.

In the musical cultures of the world, there are many ways to describe the beauty of melodies—using words that capture their contours, motion, or expressivity. My teacher, the great Mongolian scholar Wulalji, uses the image of a kite to describe how Mongolian long song melodies unfold. Just picture this image for a moment: the kite drifts and sustains itself in the sky, turning and dipping with the unpredictable winds and sudden disturbances.

This composition was inspired by the music of Inner Mongolia. I think of the cello as an instrument embodying the vocal traditions of the grasslands, and when the piano and cello play together, it feels as if one is watching a kite and its own shadow.

– Lei Liang