On the evening of November 20, 96-year-old conductor Cao Peng led the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra to take the stage again at the Oriental Art Center to present a "Feast of Opera" symphony concert for music fans. At the beginning of the concert, Cao Peng conducted the overture to Verdi's opera "The Force of Destiny", and the brilliant brass instruments sounded a charming and gorgeous horn with a powerful and powerful sound, as if the legendary conductor's life was portrayed.
Cao Peng was a veteran of the New Fourth Army who joined the revolution in 1944, and just after the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, the cultural and labor regiment of the East China Military Region to which he belonged was stationed in Shanghai. From his youth to his prime, his musical career has always been linked to the fate of the country. For decades, Cao Peng has led different orchestras through many countries, and in 1960, the first time in China's history was held overseas for a special concert of Chinese symphony works, which was conducted by Cao Peng in the column hall of the Moscow Trade Union Building. He said, "I have experienced pain and struggle, and at this age, I am very touched to see the rise and prosperity of our country and enter the prosperous world of China." ”
Since 2008, Cao Peng has been working on opening the ears of autistic children with music, teaching children music, saying that they are "very smart, can recognize staves and quickly memorize sheet music, and can't make mistakes after reciting them." More than 200 young volunteers from the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra formed a charity volunteer team to talk to the "children of the stars" with music and help them gradually get out of loneliness. Founded by Cao Peng in 2005, the orchestra proposed to "serve charity and public welfare" at the beginning of its creation.
For more than a decade, Cao Peng and his daughter Cao Xiaoxia have witnessed many families moving from despair to hope. From the beginning of music, to cultural classes, life skills, and then to the opening of the "Love Coffee" practice base, this septuagenarian insists on transmitting the light and heat of music to more people and realizing the most valuable value of music.
Under the appeal of Cao Peng, the concert lineup was strong, with the shanghai light music troupe conductor Yu Jing'an, violinist Xia Xiaocao, singers Xiao Xinyi, Zhai Haoyan, Liu Yingying, Li Yinghui, Wang Zhida, Ma Yiwei, pianist Yang Dongjin and the Shanghai Philharmonic Symphony Choir, oriental art center children's choir to help, "Carmen" overture excerpts, Puccini "Jani Skiki" excerpt "My Dear Daddy", "Country Knight" interlude, Offenbach's "Hoffman's Story" in "Boat Song", Su Pei " Hussar Overture", Verdi's "Nabuco" excerpt "Fly, Thought, Ride on Golden Wings", "Troubadour" excerpt "Anvil Song", Haydn's "Four Seasons" excerpt "Spring is Coming", Beethoven's "Choral Fantasia in C minor" and so on.
The last piece of the first half of the concert, "Borovets Girls' Chorus", was selected from Borodin's opera "King Igor", and the Dongyi Children's Choir reappeared on stage after presenting the classic excerpt "Street Boys' Chorus" from the singing drama "Carmen". Cao Peng accidentally fell before, but still insisted on participating in the performance, and he could always be seen listening carefully at every rehearsal scene. The members of the children's choir are more conscious when practicing, repeatedly training, polishing the texture of the sound, checking the background of the songs, and improving the level of presentation. The children said that it was a great honor to be able to perform on the same stage as Grandpa Cao, "We have all heard the story of Grandpa Cao, his strict requirements for music, and his contribution to society are all examples for us to learn." ”
The highlight of the second half is the finale on the repertoire list , Beethoven's "Choral Fantasia in C Minor", whose theme is very similar to the theme of "Ode to Joy" in the Ninth Symphony, so it is also known as "Little Bei Jiu". The 22-minute work is a real challenge for Cao Peng, but conducting it once a year seems to have become a tacit understanding between the elderly conductor and the fans, conveying "the spiritual qualities that exist beyond the music itself".
"Our harmonious life sings happily with love and always emits fragrance" "Magical music reverberates everywhere, narrating the sacred moment in her language, everything will change, light will replace darkness" "Beautiful flowers bloom everywhere, and everything beautiful is beginning." Beautiful hearts, come and receive the gift of art..." In the song, it is the musician's good wishes to the audience.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Shi Chenlu
Source: Author: Shi Chenlu