Born in Guangzhou, China, Chen Yi began studying the violin at the age of three. During the Cultural Revolution, she was sent into the countryside for forced labor, but took her instrument with her. At 17, she returned home to serve as concertmaster of the 

Beijing Opera Troupe. She came to the United States in 1986, studying at Columbia University. She is now Distinguished Professor in Composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by James Galway’s enthusiasm, Chen wrote a flute concerto titled The Golden Flute, “using a western flute to speak in the language of Chinese wind instruments, such as the 

dizi made from bamboo and the xun made from clay.” The world premiere was performed by the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yong-yan Hu, with flutist Donna Orbovich, on November 8, 1997.

In her program note, Chen says the opening movement, imitating the dizi, is based on the Chinese folk song Old Eight Beats. There is a substantial cadenza between the first two movements, then the “intermezzo-like” second movement, which imitates the xun, “a slow but tense, mysterious and dreamy” sound. The last movement returns to the virtuosic style, featuring “an extreme contrast between the low sonority from the orchestra and the screaming passages from the solo part mixed with piccolos.”

~ Program notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2022