Ge Gan-Ru: Shanghai Reminiscences & Butterfly Overture

Born in Shanghai, now resident in Greater New York, Ge Gan-ru is one of China’s foremost composers. Very different from his previous exploration of the Western avant-garde, Shanghai Reminiscences is a warm and affecting evocation of “the street scenes and sounds” of Gan-ru’s childhood in pre-Cultural Revolution Shanghai, viewed through the lens of his adopted American traditions. Butterfly Overture is the composer’s symphonic tribute to a beloved teacher from his Shanghai Conservatory days. International Record Review described Ge Gan-ru’s string quartets (8.570603) as “Nothing short of contemporary masterpieces”.