With a white top and a red plaid scarf, straight trousers and polished leather shoes, the radiant "Old Koehler" Zheng Deren is about to usher in his imaginary 100th birthday. Zheng Xuemei, the eldest daughter of 70, told reporters that her father watched the news every day at home, chatted with her on the phone about international and domestic events, and could talk for an hour.
On the afternoon of January 19, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra held a birthday concert for Zheng Deren, and Zheng Deren's old friends and students came. Cao Peng, a 97-year-old conductor, came to the scene and sat next to Zheng Deren. The eldest student, Hong Youlong, who is 92 years old this year, delivered a bouquet of flowers to Zheng Deren with the support of others.
Hong Youlong, a 92-year-old student, presents flowers to teacher Zheng Deren and Jiang Diwen
"I began to learn the piano with Teacher Zheng in 1952, and at that time the staves could not be recognized. Not only did he play the piano well, but he also did a good job of composing music. Inspired by him, I also learned composition and orchestration. Hong Youlong said.
He was one of China's first double bass players
Born in Shanghai in January 1923, Zheng Deren was admitted to the "National Conservatory of Music", the predecessor of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, in 1943, and studied double bass with Russian professor She Fu Tongfu. In 1946, he joined the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the predecessor of the Gongbu Bureau Band, and became the band's first Chinese double bass player, and later became the concertmaster until his retirement in 1991.
Zheng Deren as a young man provided by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
Recalling his days in the orchestra, Cheng said: "At that time, I rehearsed symphonies with many musicians, who came from all over Europe and had high artistic attainments. I immersed myself in the artistic atmosphere of classical music every day, and I also realized that the irreplaceable role of the double bass, a large and low instrument, in the orchestra laid the foundation for my future teaching work. ”
Zheng Deren became principal double violin of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra served by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
In addition to playing the double bass, Zheng Deren also created dozens of works such as "Torch Festival", "Yi Dance Music", "Tea Picking Lamp", "Good Scenery of Jiangnan" and so on during his tenure. These works are the repertoire of the orchestra's concerts that year, and are recorded and published by the Shanghai Record Company. At the birthday concert, Zhang Jiemin, resident conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, conducted the orchestra to perform two works, "Torch Festival" and "Good Scenery of Jiangnan". Zhu Shunhua, a retired student of Zheng Deren and former shanghai symphony orchestra double bass principal, also returned to the orchestra to play the teacher's work.
Zheng Deren's 100th birthday concert scene Jiang Diwen photo
"I also met Teacher Zheng recently, and the teacher said that I was fat, ashamed, and neglected to manage the image. When I was 13 years old, I learned the piano with Teacher Zheng, who taught meticulously and was strict in self-discipline in life. Now that we are five generations of teachers and students in the same classroom, I wish teachers health and longevity. Zhu Shunhua said.
Zheng Xuemei said that her father influenced her life. When I was a child, my family had a variety of musical instruments, I learned cello with my father, my sister played the violin, and the family was immersed in the world of music and felt rich in their hearts. Later, Zheng Xuemei became a teacher at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, teaching piano and harp. "My father also changed a lot of violin works to double bass versions, bringing this corner instrument to the center of the stage." Zheng Xuemei said.
Photo by Zheng Deren and his three daughters, Jiang Diwen
He is the "living fossil" of Chinese jazz
At the 100th birthday concert, the musicians of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra also performed jazz works such as "Sing Sing Sing Sing", "Trumpet Blues", "Night Shanghai • Evening Rose", "In the Mood", paying tribute to Zheng Deren's contribution to Chinese jazz.
Zheng Deren's life can be called a history of the development of Shanghai jazz. He joined the Paragon Jimmy King in 1947, the first Chinese jazz band in Shanghai. In addition to working as a double bass player, Zheng Deren is also engaged in the composition and arrangement of the band. He remembers that when the movie "Izumi Hibiscus" premiered at the Great Bright Cinema, he watched 4 times in a row in a day, forgot his love shorthand, and the next day the theme song was played at Paramount.
Zheng Deren offers at Paramount Orchestra Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
In 1956, Zheng Deren participated in the formation of the Shanghai Light Music Troupe, and the translation of "light music" originated from him. At the Cultural Club of the time, now the Garden Hotel, his band performed every Saturday night for foreign experts and was very popular.
After the reform and opening up, Zheng Deren returned to jazz, formed the Shanghai Elderly Jazz Orchestra, began to perform jazz in the small auditorium of the Jinjiang Hotel, and later went to the small bar of the Peace Hotel. At that time, an Australian reporter wrote that if you look at the Peace Hotel, you will know that China has opened up, although the instruments are very old, the score is yellow, and the players are still a bunch of old men, but they dare to play jazz!
A few years ago, at a Shanghai old song concert at the Lyceum Theatre, the reporter met the 93-year-old Zheng Deren on stage. He said that shanghai old songs have long been regarded as the sound of silence, and their cultural value has always been underestimated. In fact, Shanghai old songs are the bearers of Shanghai's local culture. "Its tunes come from Jiangnan minor, Zizhu, Meng Jiangnu, Wuxi Jing, and so on; but its rhythm is jazz. The combination of East and West is the embodiment of Shanghai culture. ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Shi Chenlu
题图来源：蒋迪雯 摄 Source: Author: Wu Tong