On the streets of Bordeaux, France, a girl dressed in traditional Chinese costumes can often be seen playing one moving piece after another with her violin in her hand. Whenever the melody sounds, it always attracts passers-by to stop and listen.
She is Mao Lingling, who studied at the Bordeaux Conservatory in France, specializing in violin playing.
Playing on the street, Mao Lingling touched the audience at the same time, but also constantly harvested the audience to bring her touch.
The following is the conversation between Xiao Qiao and Mao Lingling:
Q: Why did you think of playing the violin on the streets of France?
I started playing violin on the streets of France in the summer of 2017 because street performers are very common in Europe, but I rarely see Asian faces, and it just so happens that my major is violin playing, I need to face the audience, and the tension is a problem that I have always been difficult to overcome, so I thought about trying it.
After coming to France, I found that Westerners' impression of China was still very rigid, and I wondered if I could break the convention and use their familiar Western-style instruments and Chinese music to have a cultural collision. For a long time, the whole of Bordeaux knew that there was a Chinese girl in traditional Chinese costume playing the violin on the street, and I was also on the cover of the Bordeaux City Magazine.
Mao Lingling plays on the streets of France. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Q: What are some things that impress you on the streets abroad?
I recently had an interesting experience where a French grandmother came up to me with a flip phone and her lover on the other end of the phone. At the end of the song, I heard her say to the other end of the phone that I was a Chinese artist, and she sang a melody to her lover that I had just played, and I was instantly sweetened. Until the white head, there are still people who can share the small luck and beauty around them, which is really romantic!
There are many similar experiences, when I play, someone will open a video to share with family and friends, someone will sing, someone will dance in front of me. I was impressed by the fact that an old couple danced a waltz in front of me, and I regret not filming this scene.
Another time I traveled to Clermont-Ferrand, and when I was playing, I met a mother holding her child in tears, and after the song, she came to talk to me and wanted me to play the piano for her wedding, and she told me that she had lived in China for five years, and China was her second hometown, and she couldn't help but cry when she listened to the Chinese music I played.
In fact, the reason why I insisted on it for so long was because I could get very intuitive feedback from the audience, they would come to me and say thank you, write me small notes, write poems, draw pictures... This is not the same as performing on stage, where I export myself alone, but on the street, while I am touching them, they are constantly moving me.
Q: What types of music will be selected to play?
Most of my time I play Chinese music, occasionally playing a few foreign classics. I will choose some relevant tracks on special days, such as this year's National Day, I did a violin flash "I Love You, China" in front of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux.
Some Chinese pieces are not suitable for violin, such as "Ten Faces Ambush", which is only suitable for plucked instruments. The violin has a very soft tone, I will choose some more melodious pieces, I usually follow the original in the arrangement, and occasionally add some improvisations to the door.
Mao Lingling's performance on the streets of France attracts passers-by. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Q: How did the audience react to Chinese music played on Western instruments?
For Western audiences, they will not find the combination of Western instruments and Chinese music to be strange, music knows no borders, musical instruments are only carriers.
For example, once I played "Heavenly Road", there was a pair of white mothers and daughters in front of me, listening very touched, I saw my daughter's eyes are red, they will not know the cultural background of this song, but they still feel the power of this song.
Chinese audiences listen to Chinese music, which is more able to arouse their homesickness, they will involuntarily hum, or simply stop, staying for more than an hour.
Q: What are your plans for the promotion of Chinese music in the future?
As our country's national strength grows, a new generation of young people, especially international students, have more confidence to show our own culture overseas, and I just do what I can. In fact, there are many international students like me, and we are all contributing to the spread of culture and letting everyone understand the current China.
In addition to playing the violin, I am now learning Chinese instruments such as erhu, guqin, and flute, which I hope incorporate into my work. In fact, I am already trying, I have put the guqin and violin on the same stage before.
Author: Liang Yi
Editor-in-charge: Han Hui
Chinese students studying in Japan, a tug-of-war!
What is it like to study abroad in India? She said every day is like "unpacking the blind box."
Chinese students studying in London set up stalls to sell Hanfu and become popular! He said it wasn't important to make money...