At 7:30 p.m. on April 10, the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China (hereinafter referred to as "Ballet") will take the stage of the 7th National Centre for the Performing Arts "Spring of Chinese Symphony", under the baton of Bian Zushan and Zhang Yi, and join hands with pianist Tan Xiaotang to play a wonderful concert with the theme of "Century: Years of Burning Passion". This is also the third concert of the "Seventh Symphonic Spring" at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.
As the former chief conductor of Bajiao, the 85-year-old famous conductor Bian Zushan will once again perform "Bajiao" at the end of the concert, playing the "Red Detachment of Women" that will never fade. The sonorous and powerful "female warrior training", the light and flexible "happy female warrior", and the magnificent "overwhelming sea to win the chase", these melodies engraved in the memory of generations of audiences will once again bring the audience moving and shocking on the stage of "Chinese Symphony Spring".
On April 9, Bian Zushan was interviewed by a Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter before entering the group rehearsal. From the 60th anniversary of his art, he returned to the orchestra he was familiar with, and Bian Zushan kindly compared it to "returning to his mother's home". Talking about the "Red Detachment of Women" that he led the orchestra countless times, the famous silver-haired conductor gushed endlessly, and his eyes shone brightly.
The premiere of "The Red Detachment of Women" was directed by someone else
In 1961, after graduating with honors from the Conducting Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Bian Zushan went to China Ballet to engage in orchestra conducting, and served as the chief conductor. Over the past 60 years, Bian Zushan has conducted "Ballet" and performed Chinese and foreign ballets such as "Giselle", "Swan Lake", "Red Detachment of Women", "Lin Daiyu", etc.; he has successively premiered Miaskovsky's "Twenty-seventh Symphony" and Shostakovich's "Seventh Symphony" in China.
Among these works, "The Red Detachment of Women" can be said to be the representative work of Bian Zushan's command for many years. Many sources even describe Bian Zushan as the premiere conductor of the ballet "Red Detachment of Women". In this regard, the strict Bian Zushan said that this was not the case: "I conducted a little more, but it was not the premiere of the conductor, the first performance was at the end of September 1964, the conductor was Professor Huang Feili. Another important performance was on October 8 of the same year, Chairman Mao Zedong enjoyed "The Red Detachment of Women" in the Great Hall of the People, and gave it a very high evaluation, the conductor at that time was Li Huade, because when the dance was rehearsed, it was the ballet that invited Professor Huang Feili, the director of the conducting department of the Central Conservatory of Music, and his assistant was Professor Li Huaide. ”
Bian Zushan recalled that he began to direct the "Red Detachment of Women" in the summer of 1966: "I took the class of Mr. Li Guoquan, who was the vice president and chief conductor of the Central Opera and Dance Theater, and under his command, "The Red Detachment of Women" not only raised the standard of music performance, but also took into account his creation, but now it is almost unknown. ”
The current "Red Detachment of Women" is a mixed version from 1964 and 1970
Bian Zushan's "Red Detachment of Women" is divided into two stages, the first stage is from 1966 to April 1968, and the second stage is the performance after the restoration of "Red Detachment of Women" in 1992. "After the restoration of 'Red Detachment of Women' in 1992, the number of conductors was quite large, and in 1993 alone, there were 53 performances in a year."
As a well-known ballet of the time, "The Red Detachment of Women" also had some little-known stories. Bian Zushan revealed that because the whole play is very popular, there are changes in the process of performance. "There are two versions of the show, one from 1964 and one from 1970. When the show resumed in 1992, it became a hybrid version of the two versions. ”
Bian Zushan recalled, "Before resuming the performance of this play, Mr. Wu Zuqiang called me and asked if we could restore the 1964 version, that is, the version formed when Chairman Mao performed, not the 1970 version. But because of the rush to perform, if the old version is restored, it is necessary to re-copy the score, the band to rehearse, and to re-light, set, and dance with the actors, which is a big project. At that time, because I was anxious to meet the audience, the time was particularly tight, and this mood was understandable. So the 1970 version is still used. "But director Jiang Zuhui found Bian Zushan and insisted on the 1964 version," Director Jiang Zuhui was responsible for directing the first, second and prologues, she said that I don't care about others, the second game from Qionghua to the end of the whole second, I must be the old version of the music. I say it's easy to do, because it's only one-twelfth of it. As a result, it became a mix of old and new versions, which have been played until now. But this does not hinder the performance of the ballet, nor does it prevent the vast audience and audience from loving it. ”
From the 60th anniversary of the art, every time I return to Bajiao, I am very kind
From 1961 to the ballet company, this year is exactly the 60th anniversary of Bian Zushan's art. Before the rehearsal, Bian Zushan walked through the corridor of Zhongba and saw the poster of "Giselle" on the wall, which made him feel very kind. "I first came to work at the ballet in 1961, and my first conductor was Giselle. Every time I come back here it's kind to me. Sixty years have passed, and I am very excited to direct the selection of "Red Detachment of Women" again. ”
For so many years, Bian Zushan has watched Ceba grow up all the way and is full of feelings for the orchestra. Even after retirement, Bian Zushan paid great attention to the Chinese Ballet and the orchestra, and often came back to communicate with everyone. "I have seen the growth of the entire National Ballet of China over the years, including the development and growth of the orchestra, and it should be said that there has been a great improvement now. At the beginning of the 60s, the band was also a double-pipe formation, and now the orchestra is at the national level. In China, the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China is a first-class orchestra in China. In 2013, the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", China Ballet staged its own version of "Charity of Spring" at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which not only reflects the international level of our classical music development, but also reflects the world standard of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China. There are only a handful of ballet companies that can perform "The Rite of Spring" live with five orchestras, and from the perspective of the world, there are only a few. I can just give this one example to illustrate that over the past 60 years, the growth of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China and the National Ballet of China has attracted worldwide attention. ”
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
Photo / Beijing Youth Daily reporter Hei Jianjun
Editor/He Mengyu