iSING! & Philadelphia Orchestra: Wong, "Snow on the River"

iSING! & Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates the North American premiere of Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems, which includes Wong's "Snow on the River."
Date : 6 / Jan / 2023
Time : 7:30 PM
Address : Verizon Hall, 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
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iSING! & Philadelphia Orchestra: Wong, “Snow on the River”

Verizon Hall, 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

“Snow on the River” is a grand prize winning composition of the iSING! 2020 Composition Competition. Below is the English translation of the poem by Diana Liao:

“Snow on the River” by Liu Zongyuan

On thousand mountains no sign of birds,
On ten thousand paths no trace of man.
A boat and an old man with straw rain cape,
Fishes alone in cold river snow.

The poet, tired of the boisterous political scene in a declining Tang Dynasty, uses minimalist words to paint a pure quiet landscape that is nowhere to be found in the real world. As the poet himself had been exiled from a tumultuous political scene, the poem also conveys a sense of isolation, sorrow, and loneliness.