“Spring Vitality,” the first movement of Chen Yi’s SONG OF SPRING for string quartet, embeds rhythmic speech in quietly churning fragments of polyphony to suggest the sounds of falling rain, sure to captivate audiences of all kinds. This expression of the gentler side of spring is contrasted with a stormy middle section, full of double stops and tremolos in driving rhythms. The second movement, “Earth Dance,” is lively and angular, combining elements from jazz and Beijing opera into a distinctiv...