"I was 96 offstage, but I was 69 when I got on stage, and when I was directing young people, I was 6+9."
Cao Peng, a national first-class conductor, uses humor to dismantle the secrets of his age.
■ Cao Peng as a guest "everyone said"
On November 25th, Cao Peng was a guest at the second lecture of the high-end cultural lecture hall "Everyone Says" (season 2) held at the Chinese Creative Design Industry Base, telling his musical life.
"My health benefits from being with four, with music, with my dear family, with young people, with philanthropy."
"Although I am 96 years old, I am still 4 years old to 100 years old," he said. I've got it in the newspaper and I'm going to have concerts until I'm 100. Recently, though, I've found out that I'm very weak, and I don't know if I'll be able to reach 100. ”
At the age of 19, he joined the New Fourth Army to engage in anti-Japanese activities, and crossed the Yellow River three times under the enemy's artillery fire; at the age of 35, he directed the special concert of "Chinese Symphony Works" held in Moscow, becoming the first person to introduce the violin concerto "Liang Zhu" overseas; when he retired at the age of 70, he led the establishment of the "Shanghai Cao Peng Music Center", "Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra", "Shanghai Education Development Foundation Cao Peng Education Fund"...
Cao Peng, a 96-year-old conductor, although he has entered his old age, he is still deaf and clear-sighted and mentally strong. At the scene of the "Everybody Says" event, his demeanor and vitality infected the audience.
■ Cao Peng and the eldest daughter Cao Xiaoxia
Cao Peng was born in December 1925 in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, in a family of scholars, and at the age of 9, he represented the school in the "Anti-Japanese Anti-Smoking" Singing Competition held in Jiangyin County, and won the first prize. After that, the school's music teacher began to focus on cultivating him, and thus began his musical life step by step.
Cao Peng recalled that in February 1944, he and several classmates secretly arrived at the base area of our party, joined the New Fourth Army, and changed their name from the original "Cao Canfu" to "Cao Peng". In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and later in the War of Liberation, he was awarded the second class merit and the ordinary merit many times. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in August 1945, Cao Peng first entered the Central China Construction University, during which time he met Hui Ling, who later became his wife, and then entered the Department of Literature and Art of Shandong University to study command.
In 1949, Cao Peng came to Shanghai, joined the Shanghai Film Studio, and jointly established the "Shanghai Film Studio Symphony Orchestra (now the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra)" with Lu Qiming.
In 1954, the Moscow Conservatory of Music went to China to enroll, Cao Peng won the quota of the Ministry of Culture for further study with his musical strength, went to Moscow to study in 1955, and served as a conductor at the "Chinese Symphony Works Special Concert" held overseas for the first time, and the newly released violin concerto "Liang Zhu" was also performed at the meeting, and Cao Peng became the first person to introduce this famous Chinese song overseas.
If the success of the music career represents Cao Peng's profound cultivation and pursuit of excellence as a conductor, the enthusiasm and dedication to public undertakings over the years show Cao Peng's precious humanitarian spirit as an artist.
In 1995, at the age of 70, Cao Peng officially retired, but he consciously began to take on the responsibility of popularizing and disseminating music. Popularization is not an easy task, but even if it is difficult, we must unswervingly do it.
Cao Peng always believes, "Life with music is not lost." Improving the musical quality of the entire Chinese nation is my real pursuit. "A nation, if it does not improve its artistic literacy, there is no future.
■ Cao Peng's youngest daughter Xia Xiaocao (center) plays with members of the City Symphony Orchestra
In 2005, Cao Peng set up the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra at his own expense, which is the first non-professional symphony orchestra in Chinese mainland, and has held hundreds of symphony performances in the past ten years since its establishment, so that the symphony music form has penetrated into the broad masses of the people, and the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra has been awarded the glorious title of "Advanced Unit for Promoting Learning Groups" by the Shanghai Municipal Government, and Cao Peng is also known as "the hero of popularizing symphony".
The "Shanghai Student Symphony Orchestra", "Shanghai City Youth Symphony Orchestra", the Wind Orchestra and the Folk Orchestra of the Shanghai Medical Workers' Union, etc., also continued Cao Peng's belief in the cause of music popularization, because the city needs more music groups, more people who like music, he firmly believes that the spirit of music is the spirit of culture, "culture is the foundation of a country, culture is prosperous, culture is strong and the country is strong." ”
Cao Peng also sincerely invested his own efforts in social welfare undertakings. In 2008, with the support of the Shanghai Charity Foundation, Cao Peng and his eldest daughter Cao Xiaoxia established the "Angel Confidant Salon" for autistic children.
By learning music and playing musical instruments to open the hearts of children with autism, many families are beginning to feel happiness and hope again.
■ Cao Xiaoxia
"Where is my blessing? Just being able to serve society, I can now teach people with autism to play music and open their ears with music, from music to heart. ”
From the ear to the heart, from the music to the human heart, Cao Peng has always believed in the power that music brings to life. Using music as a window, those children with autism open their ears and gradually open their hearts.
Cao Peng said about the changes music has brought to the families of autistic children, "Originally parents and children cried to each other, now we have music to help them, open their ears and go to society. ”
He became the "Grandpa Cao" in the hearts of those children, and children with autism would sometimes suddenly hug him, "Grandpa Cao, you have to live to be 120 years old." ”
"This is my greatest consolation and blessing.". Cao Peng said frankly, "I think 120 years old is too long, I estimate that there are still 4 years to go to 100 years old, the problem is not particularly big." ”
■ "Everybody Says" event group photo
Cao Peng has a happy family. "I am now 96 years old and can still take the stage to command, which is the cultivation of the motherland and the support of everyone." Thank you to my family, my wife, and my two daughters for their support of me. As long as I command, my wife will help me get ready, and my two daughters will help me to the stage, because it is not very convenient for me to walk now, and the conductor is OK. He hoped to strive to be able to conduct until the age of 100.
"Mo Daowu is ninety-six now, and he is immortal, but he seeks to be simple and offer true love, and bows his head to be a symphonic cow." This small poem may be able to briefly summarize the demeanor of this person who has dedicated his life to the cause of music, Cao Peng's demeanor, which is impressive.
The event was jointly sponsored by the National Foreign Cultural Exchange Research Base, the Propaganda Department of the Minhang District Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Shanghai International Cultural Society.
Source: Thoughtful Shanghai