Mountain Spirits
by Brian Chatpo Koo (Australia)
I have always been fascinated by the mountains, their spirits, and the divinity of mountains. They always have a mysterious quality in their sheer size, still silence, and the cloudy mist that surrounds them.
The music consists of three movements depicting the mystery of the mountains the inner feeling of silence and the imaginary dance of their inner life.
- Preludio Senza tempo
- Portamento, Adagio
- Capriccio, Allegro
Commissioned by the Hong Kong Composers Guild in 1997, this piece was premiered by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the same year at the Hong Kong Arts and Cultural Centre.
Dr Brian Chatpo Koo is a Sydney-based musician. He worked as a violinist, cellist, and conductor in several professional symphony orchestras before settling down in Sydney in 1993.
He studied music at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Sydney. He was the first person in Australia to receive a Ph.D. degree in music composition. He also studied music at the International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany, and obtained his Licentiate, and Fellowship Diplomas from Trinity College of Music London.
As a composer, his compositions have been performed and broadcasted over Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia.
He won the Hong Kong Young Musicians’ Award in 1985 and the Himalaya Cup Award in the First International Competition for Piano Composition in Beijing in 1995.
As an academic member, he has worked as a tutor/teaching assistant for the Music Department at the University of Hong Kong, and a senior faculty member of the Australian Institute of Music, (where he established curricula for the Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition), and an external examiner for the University of Wollongong.
As a conductor, he has conducted many symphony orchestras to premiere his works, including both of his operas.
He is the Founding Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra. The SCO Youth Symphony – the Sydney Hills Youth Orchestra and the Sydney Hills Junior Orchestra, and the Western Sydney Symphony Orchestra.