"Beten und Hoffen,” a piano piece composed by Taiwan's Tung Chao-ming(董昭民) for the "250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven” project, will have its world premiere in Bonn this September.
Tung is a Cologne-based composer who specializes in incorporating Chinese instruments such as the Chinese zither into his music. He has performed in festivals across Asia, Europe, and North America alongside international musicians, performers, and ensembles.
"Beten und Hoffen,” which means to pray and hope, is four minutes and 30 seconds long and integrates Taiwanese folk music with Beethoven scores. It commemorates Beethoven as well as the 117 victims of the 2016 Taiwan earthquake, a 6.4-magnitude tremor that struck when Tung was still working on the composition.
Initiated by German pianist Susanne Kessel, the project aims to celebrate the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2020 with piano pieces inspired by Beethoven and his works.
A total of 250 composers from around the world have been invited by Kessel to join the project, and each piece will have its world premiere in Bonn, the city where Beethoven was born in 1770.
The world premiere of "Beten und Hoffen” will be presented by Kessel on Sept. 10 at Roisdorfer Mineralquellen. The evening will also offer a wide range of performances featuring dancer Rebecca Meyer, performer Rolf Mautz, and visual artist Peter Holscher.
The complete ten-volume "250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven” collection will be released by Editions Musica Ferrum in 2020, and Tung's piece will be collected in volume three. You can find samples of his music here on SoundCloud.
‘Beten und Hoffen'
