At a time of rising tensions between the US and China, artist Ming Wong presents a musical lecture-performance that traces the Sino-American “ping-pong” diplomacy, starting with President Nixon’s historic state visit to Communist China and his meeting with Chairman Mao fifty years ago. Evoking an international piano competition and a table tennis match, two pianists collaborate on and improvise a performative unification of the sonic regimes of the US and China.

In a ping-pong double concerto accompanied by archival moving images and spoken word, they explore the role of European classical music, modernism, and mythmaking in the rise of these two nations in the 20th century. From table tennis and television to tanks and trade wars, Rhapsody in Yellow charts the changing balance of power between the US and China, in a duet of discord and harmony, chaos and serendipity, humor and pathos.

Conceptualized and produced by Ming Wong
Text and video: Ming Wong
Music director: Henry Hao-An Cheng
Pianists: Ben Kim, Mark Taratushkin
Music conceived by Ming Wong and Henry Hao-An Cheng, arranged by Christopher Schlechte-Bond
Cinematography and vision mixing: Liam Morgan
Video assistant: Elias Fritz
Sound technical support: Peter Weinsheimer
Production management: Mariko Mikami

Link

https://2022.steirischerherbst.at/en/program/artists/3668/ming-wong