In China, for many blind people, massage and massage is almost the only way for this group to survive. However, when a blind man chooses a very different path to music, how many people choose to believe him? How will he hold on to himself in the midst of other people's arguments? English-language media platform RADIU has produced a mini-documentary about blind player Zhang Zheyuan, telling the story he had to tell between him and the violin.
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"Song of the Wanderer", also known as "Song of the Gypsy", is one of the masterpieces of the Spanish violinist and composer Pablo de Sarazati, and is also an immortal masterpiece in the violin solo, and its intestinal sad color and the esoteric violin technique are intertwined with a brilliant effect that anyone will be thrilled to hear.
Zhang Zhe, who began studying the violin, has translated more than a thousand Braille scores, and in addition to deeply imprinting every note in his mind, he also needs to combine his understanding of the work and complex playing skills to show the spiritual connotation of this piece.
Zhang Zheyuan was born in Yunnan in 1991 and was born blind due to retinitis-free pigmentosa. He began to learn violin formally at the age of 13, and with the support of his father, he continued to practice for 10 hours a day, becoming the first blind violinist in China.
In 2009, 18-year-old Zhang Zheyuan successfully held a solo violin recital at the Kunming Theater in Yunnan. In 2010, he was admitted to the China Disabled Art Troupe as a violinist. In the same year, Zhang Zheyuan played as a violin soloist at the closing ceremony of the Asian Para Games.
In 2012, in order to further his studies in piano art, he quit his job in the Disabled Art Troupe and stayed in Beijing alone to prepare for 7 professional music colleges in the United States and was invited by the school scholarship, but in the end, because he was blind, he could not be certified and could not make the trip.
In 2014, Zhang Zheyuan participated in the CCTV Violin Competition and entered the national top six. In recent years, Zhang Zheyuan has accompanied the China Disabled People's Art Troupe to conduct tour performances in more than 20 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and the Americas. In 2018, he performed on the world-famous Lincoln Center stage in New York as a violinist of the China Disabled Arts Troupe, which was unanimously praised by the audience.
In 2019, Zhang Zheyuan was admitted to the University of Sheffield with excellent results and went to the United Kingdom alone to continue his master's degree path.
All of these achievements may sound like his efforts are deserved, but in the process of RADIO shooting The philosopher, we realized that blindness is not only about vision, it also affects every aspect of a person's personal safety, social interactions, intimate relationships, and even self-awareness, and it subtly changes the trajectory of a person's life. A blind person needs to overcome many difficulties in life that are unimaginable to ordinary people.
When the film crew already felt the need to take a break, he was still trying to prepare for the next shooting scene, and I believe you can also experience his power from the video.
The moving thing about Zheyuan is not only that he has practiced such a violin technique with his extraordinary efforts, but also that no matter how much challenge he has to face, he always regards himself as an ordinary person who is not bound by any constraints.
I hope that you, like us, can feel his optimistic belief and yearning for freedom from his music.