The pace of China's economic and social prosperity and development has made the pursuit of "beauty" in Chinese increasingly strong, and has also made the world's attention to China's "beauty" increasing day by day. They are the creators and disseminators of beauty, showing the activity of beauty in their respective fields, excavating the appeal of beauty, giving play to the productivity of beauty, and letting "beauty" and "power" go hand in hand.
A large symphonic overture, "Light of the Himalayas," won Ye Xiaogang the 2012 Guggenheim Foundation Music Award. In 2013, his other works such as "The Last Paradise" and "Song of the Earth" kicked off "China Story" at the Lincoln Center for the Arts in the United States. The performance also opened the door to an overseas tour of Chinese contemporary musical works. Ye Xiaogang believes in "content is king", constantly creating new works, but also constantly improving the existing repertoire. In the following six years, "China Story" was presented on the music stage of many countries around the world, and Ye Xiaogang also experienced the huge transformation of foreign audiences from strange to loved Chinese contemporary music.
Wu Xiaoli: Using music to say "Chinese story", this name is what you took. It is said that at that time, the Ministry of Education, the State New Office, the Literary Association, and the Beijing Art Group invited you to do this, but did they take the initiative to find you?
Ye Xiaogang: I took the initiative to find them. When I was studying in the United States, I went to Lincoln Center and said I was going to have a concert here, and now I'm ready because I think I've had enough of my work. At that time, there were no conditions, no penny, and then I found these four units, and everyone supported it. At that time, everyone had a very instinctive desire to push Chinese art outward.
In terms of orchestras, we first approached the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. However, foreign symphony orchestras are scheduled on an annual basis. I looked for a lot of orchestras, none of which were available. In addition to the orchestra, lincoln center Ivory Fisher Hall is available before you can talk about anything else. Someone in the middle helped introduce the Detroit Orchestra and introduced my situation, and people were willing to do such a thing. I was there during rehearsals, but usually the symphony orchestra rehearsed new works, and they hated the presence of composers.
Wu Xiaoli: I'm afraid you're pointing fingers.
Ye Xiaogang: You pick your nose and pick your eyes, this is not satisfied, that is not satisfied, it may waste a lot of their time. But when I was in rehearsal, they were very kind to me, that is, they thought they were happy to finally hear a modern music that was so good.
Wu Xiaoli: The main thing is that the works have convinced them.
Ye Xiaogang: Modern music all over the world is aggressive, aggressive, aggressive ears. There are philosophical reasons for how hard it is to hear and how to write, because they think that the world is not beautiful.
But when the Detroit Orchestra performed my work, they were very happy. So this is also my confidence for so many years, that is, my modern music is both modern, and there is a good place, and there is a place that moves people. Plus a Chinese flute player I brought with me, the level is very good, much higher than the level of their flute players. They applauded after each solo, stood up and applauded. So it became a good art exchange, and they recognized the depth of Chinese culture and the thickness of Chinese culture, so this thing was very successful.
On December 12, 2019, advertisements rolled on the big screen in New York's Times Square as usual, including a poster for the premiere concert of the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York. And when this huge advertisement appeared, the content that was originally looped was frozen here for three minutes, in order to cooperate with the members of the orchestra, leaving these photos in front of Times Square.
On December 13, 2019, half of the audience was non-Chinese faces, and the applause was warm, and Chinese and foreign music critics gave praise. In Ye Xiaogang's eyes, although this performance is not his "China Story" series, it is an upgraded version of "China Story"!
Ye Xiaogang: When I go to perform in 2019, there are two concepts: on the one hand, whether a Chinese work can reflect the reality of contemporary China; on the other hand, whether a Chinese orchestra can reach the world-class level and play in a famous and long-established concert hall. This is a twofold meaning.
If 2013 is the opening day, then 2019 is a completely positive and all-round display. Not only show your work, but also show your playing prowess. It should be said that in the past six or seven years, by constantly showing the world the new face of China's contemporary music culture, they believe that our music has a colorful side. First, in their words, aggressive, that is, more aggressive, relatively incommensistant tones. But it can also be said that it is not very harmonious, which reflects the reality of our world, which is not harmonious. At least that's what I think, because there are so many contradictions in the world.
Wu Xiaoli: To some extent, aggressive is also a kind of display of power.
Ye Xiaogang: Right. This performance, everyone applauded very warmly, and they basically had no negative comments. Aggressive also means that Chinese music also has an offensive side, that is, it is very strong, and there are some discordant, indicating that Chinese culture is diverse, you can tolerate different voices, this concept is completely different from the past.
"You haven't been there in person, how can you write Deeply about China?"
From 1977, when he became one of the first batch of college students after the Chinese mainland resumed the college entrance examination, to 1984, when he represented young composers to attend the international art festival for the first time after China's reform and opening up, and premiered his new work "Xijiang Yue", to 1987 to go to the Eastman Conservatory of Music in the United States to study composition, Ye Xiaogang said that he was one of the witnesses to the development of Chinese music and art in this era, and he has always tried to stand at the forefront of Chinese contemporary music. It was this sense of identity and mission that made him choose to return to China in 1994 and followed this original intention in the days that followed.
Wu Xiaoli: People of your generation basically went abroad, but then you chose to come back. Did you feel like you didn't want to be a second-class citizen abroad and wanted to return to your home country?
Ye Xiaogang: Before I went abroad, I was very famous, and the so-called "talents" are, of course, now they are all smoke clouds, not worth mentioning. But some of my relationships at that time were still there, and it would have been difficult for me to do big things if I hadn't returned home. In 1994, ten years ago, the situation of Chinese who taught in American universities and even achieved higher achievements no longer attracted me. I'm an ordinary person, but I feel like I can come back and do more. Later, he slowly intervened in social life and also examined various places. Compared to the musicians who can make a name for themselves internationally, I think my work is more solid, because I really am in this place. This is completely different from floating abroad to write about China.
Ye Xiaogang: The hardest place I have ever been to, where the mountain people and children have to get up at four o'clock in the morning, light torches, walk more than ten kilometers, from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, go to a primary school where even the tables and chairs are not complete, and eat a potato at noon. How can you see such a place abroad? You can't see it.
We have so many things to do in China, I want to write about the Chinese countryside, I want to write about the Chongqing Suite, I want to write about the Chaotianmen Wharf, I want to write about this mountain, that mountain, I think I know this place deeply. So I feel like I'm solid, solid, very solid.
I do a lot of aesthetic education work, if you have not seen such a thing, what aesthetic education work? You have not seen the current situation in China, including china's modern hand, such a beautiful airport, such a great highway, have you seen it in a foreign country? No, you really haven't seen it. This gives you a very different mental impact. Why should we accurately alleviate poverty? Makes sense. Some places still use that water tank, right? Like those places in northern Shaanxi. You have not been there in person, how do you write China profoundly? I don't believe it, I tell you, I really don't believe it. It doesn't matter what prize you win.
I wrote "Memories of Jinggang", and at that time I was also asked to write about that glorious period, the glorious history of the ruling party of the Republic in history. I walked around that place for many days, and I stood in the Huangyang Realm for a long time. I just think and consider the essence of a person, a person at such a young age, has such a big ideal, "ask the vast earth, who is the lord of the ups and downs", what kind of mood is this? What kind of mind is this? What kind of historical opportunity is this? It also reminds me of myself. Are you saying that as an artist of my contemporaries, I have no responsibility to show these things? Write about some of the beauty of China. I think maybe there's a chance that I can do a little more for the nation.
In the 25 years since his return to China, Ye Xiaogang's catalogue has added "Macao Bride", "Shenzhen Suite", "Second Symphony "The Great Wall", the Third Symphony "Chu", "The Light of Tibet", "Song of the Earth", "Seven Parts of Lin'an", "Green Mango Fragrance", "Jade Guanyin", "Rise of Great Powers", etc., involving symphony, chamber music, opera, dance drama, film and television music and many other genres, including the fifth symphony "Lu Xun", which was born in 2017.
Wu Xiaoli: There are not many people who use symphony to talk about people, and it is particularly difficult to describe Lu Xun with musical works.
Ye Xiaogang: Of course, Lu Xun was the dream of the Shaohua era. At that time, I still wanted to be a writer, so I wrote Lu Xun's good words in this book. Writing Lu Xun is a dream of mine. Finally, there was an opportunity, on the occasion of Lu Xun's birthday, the Lu Xun Foundation found me. When we met again, I didn't expect that I was like Lu Xun, and I had two sets of Lu Xun's complete works in my family, one set was from the Cultural Revolution, and the other was recently published. The work is long, an hour and a half, with no break in between. The leaders of the country also went to see it, and they were very supportive. So "Lu Xun" finally realized one of my dreams.
Ye Xiaogang: There is also a second half of Lu Xun's episode, and I dare not write it. For example, the matter of Hua Lao's plug, such as the matter of the human blood steamed bun in "Medicine". I sometimes wonder if the second set can be written before the first set, because the first set, I spent 120,000 years to write. After writing it, all the composers felt that you had really done a great thing. Rousseau said: The praise of every contemporary to you is the best asset of an artist. Then I am certainly more pleased to have such an evaluation.
Wu Xiaoli: Haven't you finished writing yet?
Ye Xiaogang: I haven't finished the manuscript yet. "Lu Xun" has such a complex in it. For me, "Lu Xun" does not have too many difficulties, it is all in my own mind.
Wu Xiaoli: Too familiar, and too much love.
Q&A Shenzhou "Meili China" Series--
First visit to Ye Xiaogang, Chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association
Poke here to watch the preview ⬇️ of this episode
Choreographer: Zhang Heng
Editors: Meng Han, Gu Yifei, Li Wei