Source: People's Daily - International Channel
Concert scene. Courtesy of the organizer
People's Daily New York, February 8 (Reporter Li Xiaohong) On the occasion of the Year of the Tiger, the "Sound of Spring" Chinese New Year Concert organized by the Bard U.S.-China Music Research Institute in the United States once again played at Lincoln Center in New York after the epidemic storm. The pipa, the chant and the symphony are ensemble, and the Peking opera and folk songs are sung together with Western opera. The familiar melody, unforgettable memories, the taste of the reunion, and the stirring mood soothe the wanderers who miss their relatives every festive season, and also inspire the audience's confidence in the New Year.
Huang Ping, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York, sent a letter congratulating the third "Voice of Spring" Chinese New Year Concert offline. In his congratulatory message, he thanked Bard U.S.-China Music Institute and its director, Cai Jindong, for sharing Chinese music with the multicultural community in the United States over the years and for his commitment to cultural exchanges between the United States and China. "In chinese zodiac culture, the tiger symbolizes strength, courage and wisdom, and I hope this spirit inspires the people of the two countries to have more confidence in overcoming all challenges and ushering in an auspicious New Year."
In the evening, Li Huanzhi's "Spring Festival Overture" opened the concert, and the subsequent Beijing song "Ode to the Pear Blossom" integrated the Peking Opera singing voice with the Western symphony, allowing the audience to appreciate the wonderful fusion of Chinese and Western art.
When the piano concerto "Yellow River" was played in the Jazz Center Theater of Lincoln Center, the majestic melody evoked memories of cultural China. The young pianist Ju Xiaofu's fingertips tilt "Yellow River" gallops with the charm of oriental culture and the breath of modern art, telling the unique life experience of the Chinese nation and expressing the pride and ambition of the descendants of Yan Huang.
The Pipa Concerto "Silk Road Flying" opens the second half of the concert. Inspired by Dunhuang murals, this new work by composer and pipa player Zhao Cong combines the essence of traditional Chinese music with contemporary world music vocabulary. The brilliant and magnificent pieces, the dazzling techniques, through the joint interpretation of New York pipa player Zhou Yi and the orchestra, beautifully show the blossoming of dreams and the glory of the world.
Guo Yazhi's famous song "A Hundred Birds and a Phoenix" will further heat up the concert. Composed by the master Ren Tongxiang and adapted by composer Guan Xia, this song presents an artistic style that is compatible with tradition and modernity, East and West. Imitating the song of various birds, the cry in a subtle way, vividly calling for spring back to the earth, and interpreting the social harmony of all peoples.
The skewers of Chinese songs in the final part of the performance pushed the concert to a climax. Peking Opera performance artist Song Feihong sang his own song "Song West Lake" while handwriting the word "Fu" to the audience, which attracted a lot of applause. American soprano Esther Maureen Kelly and baritone José Rubio sang the old songs of the Chinese one after another, singing the warm memories in the hearts of the Chinese, "The Sea Ah Hometown", "The Moon Represents My Heart", "White Haired Girl" Excerpts, the words are round, the voice is rich, and it wins a tidal wave of applause. The concert ended with a fusion of the Jiangsu folk song "Jasmine" and Puccini's "Opera Version of Jasmine", "From Jasmine to Turandot". The unrelenting applause and the cheers confirmed the complete success of the concert.
"Music knows no borders. Thank you to the organizers for their meticulous presentation of this inspiring and promising concert. Christina, an American audience who watched the performance, said that the concert's repertoire was well selected, very well choreographed, very moving, and the effect was so good that it was bursting.
"Festivals and folk customs make Chinese live in a society with feelings and righteousness, which is not only the accumulation and reproduction of our long history and culture, but also a concentrated display of national character and national culture." Cai Jindong, director of the Bard American-Chinese Music Institute, said, "We hope to showcase Chinese music in a multicultural stirring, while reflecting the fusion of Chinese and Western musical styles, especially the fusion of traditional instrumental solos and Western symphony orchestras." I hope that through this unique 'Chinese style' concert, we will bring the audience heartfelt comfort and good wishes, so that everyone can greet the Tiger Mega Year in the hometown music and the melody of the New Year. ”
(Editor-in-charge: Ai Wen, Liu Hui)