composer

A Cambodian-American composer, Chinary Ung (b. 1942) combines traditional Cambodian and Western elements in his works.

As the world grows smaller, it is less and less uncommon to find composers from non-Western cultures making their mark in Western music; skillfully blending the musical ideas of their heritage into the forms of Western music. Chinary Ung is a perfect representative of this trend.

A Cambodian-American composer, Chinary Ung (b. 1942) combines traditional Cambodian and Western elements in his works.

As the world grows smaller, it is less and less uncommon to find composers from non-Western cultures making their mark in Western music; skillfully blending the musical ideas of their heritage into the forms of Western music. Chinary Ung is a perfect representative of this trend.

Ung was born in Cambodia, and his earliest musical experiences were in its musical tradition. He later studied at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, where the only instrument available for him to study was the E-flat clarinet (an odd instrument to study by any standard). In 1964 he came to the United States and continued his clarinet studies at the Manhattan School of Music. He soon discovered an interest and talent in composition and continued at Columbia, where he received his PhD in 1974. His teachers have included Chou Wen-Chung and George Crumb. His career has followed the normal track of university teaching (the University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University, and now the University of California at San Diego).

Ung's music is a remarkable blend of two cultures. He uses Western instruments, but his melodic materials are often based on Asian pentatonic scales, and he often calls for pitch bending and microtones that further resemble the music of the East. In works such as his Spirals, the heterophonic textures also are reminiscent of the music of Southeast Asia. His synthesis is, in part, a result of a personal and cultural crisis. As a reaction to the horror of the Khmer Rouge genocide, in which much of his family perished, he devoted nearly a decade to the study and performance of Cambodian music and aesthetics. When he returned to composing in the late 1980s, he was able to integrate this into his own personal style in a remarkable manner.

Performances

Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory | February 15, 2013
Moonshine Room at Club Café | January 11, 2005

News and Press

[Concert Review] BMOP gives the viola its moment in the sun

And now, it might be asked, should we pity the viola? It is after all consigned to an unglamorous middle range, and is ever on the receiving end of all that merciless skewering (if you don’t know what I mean, type “viola jokes” into Google, or ask anyone who has played in an orchestra).

The Boston Globe Full review
[Concert Review] Roseate Ensemble: Violas Consort with BMOP

In another masterstroke of imaginative programming for which it is renowned, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, under Music Director Gil Rose, offered a day-late billet-doux to the sultriest member of the string family at Jordan Hall on February 15th. “Voilà! Viola!” consisted of five works featuring the viola, four of them as soloist and one for an ensemble of eight. (one will have to come up with a clever collective noun for this).

The Boston Musical Intelligencer Full review
[Concert Review] It’s “Voilà Viola!” night at Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Why did the contemporary-music orchestra give a concert of five works that all featured the viola?

a. because they wanted to make a pun in French
b. because it was St. Violantine’s Day
c. because there’s some good stuff for viola out there
d. the orchestra ordered up two brand-new viola pieces, never heard before

Boston Classical Review Full review
[Concert Review] Stylus reviews Voilà! Viola!

This Boston Modern Orchestra Project concert was another of Gil Rose’s theme-based concerts with a catchy name. The pieces were Suite for Eight Violas (1975) by Gordon Jacob, Serenade No. 1 for Viola and Orchestra (1962) by George Perle, Singing Inside Aura (2013) by Chinary Ung, Viola Concerto (2012) by Donald Crockett, and, finally, Xian Shi (1983) by Chen Yi. The selections were disparate in style and affect; a listener certainly comes away with an appreciation for the range of effects from this instrument within modern music.

Stylus Magazine Full review