Issues Regarding Acoustical Balance In The Interpretation Of Kuan Nai-Chung's Double Percussion Concerto "The Sun"

While fine-tuning the acoustical balance of the orchestra,the conductor not only needs to adjust the orchestra's playing subjectively;he/she can also use an acoustic analysis software to objectively reflect the sonic state of the orchestra,thus allowing for more effective acoustical balancing.During the rehearsal and performance of a concerto,the conductor can make use of acoustic software to analyse the audio,and through the data compiled,fine-tune the acoustical balance of a single solo instrument,or even multiple solo instruments,against the orchestra.In the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China,Chinese traditional orchestral music has made great progress with regards to compositional techniques,proficiency level and instrumental manufacturing technology.However,due to the limitations of its instruments and their respective individualistic tone colours,it is hence more challenging to adjust the acoustical balance of a Chinese traditional orchestra as compared with their Western symphonic counterparts.It was this challenge that piqued the author's interest in the concerto “The Sun”,which is the first movement of “The Millennium of the Dragon",written by Kuan Nai-Chung in 1999 for one Chinese and one Western percussion soloist,and accompanied by a full Chinese traditional orchestra.This study aims to explore the issues regarding the acoustical balance between the two solo percussion parts and the orchestra from a conductor's point of view.Through the analysis of the full score,comparison of audio examples with the help of acoustic analysis software,as well as the analysis and study of the frequency band in which the acoustical balances occur,the author also relies on his professional knowledge of orchestral conducting to solve this problem to a certain extent.