Instrumentation: Yangqin, Pipa, Zhongruan, Daruan, Erhu, Zhonghu, Percussion, Dizi (solo), Cello (solo), Strings (2.2.2.1.1. minimum)
Duration: 12 minutes
Year: 2025
Program Notes
Commissioned by Calgary’s Kensington Sinfonia and the GaiLan Ensemble, Wok Hei was written for a hybrid ensemble of Chinese instruments and string orchestra, featuring dizi soloist Jiajia Li and cellist Andrea Case. The title refers to a distinctly Chinese culinary concept: the elusive “breath of the wok”—that umami-laden energy that emerges when stir-frying food over a searing flame. This essence offered an evocative metaphor for the kind of musical synergy I hoped to explore between Eastern and Western traditions.
When first approaching this commission, I sought a unifying concept that could transcend the cultural and timbral differences within the ensemble. I found it in the kitchen, specifically in the recipe of a beloved Sichuan dish that I have often made: ma po tofu (麻婆豆腐). This well-known dish provided a framework for the piece.
There are many different approaches to making ma po tofu, each shaped by personal taste and regional flair. For this piece, I chose the version that, in my mind, felt most straightforward. The structure of Wok Hei loosely mirrors the progression of this dish, not as a literal soundtrack to a recipe, but as a source of musical, textural, and expressive inspiration. It begins with a full-ensemble ritornello, evoking the ignition of the flame and setting the stage with flair—akin to the ceremonial first sizzle in the wok. What follows are a series of musically distinct sections that conjure the gestures of chopping ginger, the sizzle of aromatics hitting hot oil, the grounding richness of pork, the heat of doubanjiang, and the decadent finish of chili oil and silken tofu. This culminates in a final section that imagines the moment the dish is plated.
Wok Hei is a celebration of food and of my own cross-cultural identity as a composer. It’s a piece that attempts to stir the senses and ignite the imagination, much like the dish that inspired it.
My heartfelt thanks to Kensington Sinfonia and the GaiLan Ensemble for their adventurous spirit; to Jiajia Li and Andrea Case for their artistry and insight; and to the Canada Council for the Arts, whose generous support made this work possible.
Score Sample
Roydon Tse 