Yi Chen

Not Alone & Happy Birthday to Prism

A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant; Not Alone is inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai's poem 'Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.' The premiere was given on April 26; 2014 by the PRISM Quartet with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company; which commissioned the work to celebrate its 25th Anniversary NYC Season. From the Program Note by Matthew Levy (The PRISM Quartet); 'Not Alone (2014) is an interdisciplinary work...but it stands alone in a chamber music setting. The work spans a stunning range of textures; from introspective solos for each of the four saxophones to majestic hyper-active gestures. The PRISM Quartet recorded Not Alone for a 2017 release on XAS Records titled Paradigm Lost. But we're excited for a wider community of saxophonists to embrace the work; and share it with their own audiences.' Not Alone is published together with Happy Birthday to PRISM; a brief miniature that Chen Yi wrote for the quartet's 20th anniversary celebration in 2004. For advanced performers.