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Brent Parker’s Four Corners Quartet Premieres in China

November 23, 2012

IMRO member, Brent Parker, has recently completed a specially commissioned piece of music for strings and flute celebrating global trade between China, India and Europe.

The Four Corners Quartet was recorded in a day-long session at the Pro-Soul Studios in Beijing by the Phoenix Quartet, and premiered at Dezan Shira & Associates’ 20th Anniversary Celebrations in Beijing and Shanghai earlier this month.

Speaking of the piece, Brent says:

“Four Corners combines themes derived from the musical heritages of China, India, Italy and the UK. The piece opens with a reference to the legendary founder of music in China, Ling Lun, who according to Chinese mythology made bamboo pipes tuned to the sounds of birds. This portion of the piece adheres to the pentatonic scale so common in Chinese music. The Shrutis and mircotonic intervals introduce the Indian influence of the piece which includes a reference to Ravi Shankar. A canzonetta-style section with hints of mandolin demonstrates the Italian theme. Lastly, a variation on the folksong Scarborough Fair represents the British influence.”

Brent was born in New Zealand in 1933, and lived in Ireland for over forty years. He taught at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama in Dublin from 1974 until his retirement to Achill Island in 1998 and is now based in Beijing.

A great variety of artists have performed Brent’s music, including John Feeley (guitar), the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Thomas Martin (double bass), Aisling Drury-Byrne (cello), William Dowdall (flute), Andreja Malir (harp), Ethna Tinney (piano), Nicola Sharkey (soprano) and Angela Feeney (soprano). In 1996, his first piano concerto was premiered by Finghin Collins with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Houlihan in a concert at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. In the 1970s, his second piano concerto was performed by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Colman Pearce with the composer as soloist, and broadcast on RTÉ Radio. In 2006, his choral work Credo was performed by the senior and children’s choirs of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, joined by Resurgam Chamber Choir, conducted by Peter Barley. His work Exiles was premiered in Ireland in 2012 by guitarist John Feeley and Con Tempo quartet.

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