While perusing Kui’s chamber music, this quintet caught my eye when I saw it was premiered by my own college’s new music ensemble (Alea III New Music Ensemble at Boston University), a group founded by one of my professors, Theodore Antoniou. When I studied the work I thought it a gorgeous and evocative mix of Eastern styles and Western modernism, and the combination of nostalgia for Theodore’s annual composition competition with the beauty of the piece became too tempting to resist.
Winner of the 1994 Alea III International Competition for Chamber Music Composition
Premiered November 7, 1994, conductor: Theodore Antoniou
– Jonathan Newman