11 Aug 2021

Crouching tiger, solo cellist

From Upbeat, 12:30 pm on 11 August 2021

To say Ashley Brown is a fan of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would be an understatement.

It was the first DVD he and his wife ever owned. Back when buying DVDs was still a thing.

Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown Photo: RNZ/Tim Dodd

"We watched it over and over, and through and through," he tells Upbeat.

Now, the cellist and founder of NZTrio, is gearing up for a solo performance in the Crouching Tiger Concerto.

The evocative concerto is based on Tan Dun's own score for the Oscar-winning film, composed in exploration of the meeting of cultures from East and West.

Ashley will be playing the cello cadenzas alongside the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra this Saturday, August 14.

It will be a challenge, but an exciting one he says.

Despite the score's adaptation for a European orchestra, figuring out the intonation is vital. It is the key says Ashley  into the world and culture of Ang Lee's film.

Ashley explains there is an elusive quality to the piece he has only just managed to reconcile.

"It feels like I'm always reaching to find something, a solid idea. Only recently I have come to the conclusion that this is exactly what I should be doing.

"You are always kind of travelling between pitches. It's slightly disturbing. Like building a house with no foundations."

Ashley confesses he feels a "little bit naughty" as he works to pull the sound from his 1762 William Forster cello.

"I wince slightly every time I pluck," he says.

Listen as host David Morriss and Ashley discuss the ability of music to conjure images, the hazards of playing a centuries old instrument, and in a nod to all pun-lovers, Ashley's latest collaboration and album, LimonCello.

Music details:

Tan DUN: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon theme. Performed by Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, Shanghai Percussion Ensemble.

Claire COWAN: Subtle Dances. Performed by NZTrio.

David SELFE: LimonCello. Performed by Ashley Brown (cello), David Selfe (piano).