Zhou Long - Pianogongs

for piano and two Chinese opera gongs Pianogongs was inspired by the sonorities of the percussion section of the Beijing opera. The work is for one performer and features a combination of piano (functioning like a percussion instrument) and 2 gongs which are laid on the soft top of an extra piano bench to the left of the performer. The structure of the piece is formed by alternation of three different musical ideas: a fast repetitive rhythm, a series of chords based on the major triad and perfect fourth, and an energetic staccato motif.