Recently, violinist Huang Mengla held a solo concert of "Greetings to Love".
At the age of 22, Huang Mengla won the gold medal at the Paganini International Violin Competition. In the past 20 years, he has experienced confusion and experienced "highlight moments".
I heard that Huang Mengla's father originally named his son "Moonlight" (a harmonic sound of Moonlight) because he liked to listen to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". Mr. Wong said he wasn't sure if it was because of the song, but his father told him that "the moonlight is gentle and not scorching."
The same is true of the artistic realm pursued by Huang Mengla, which is not hurried and touches people's hearts.
You can't just "lash out"
Huang Mengla's piano box always contained a picture of her daughter.
Like him, my daughter has been with the violin since she was three or four years old.
When he was a child, Huang Mengla did not like to play the violin. Because he did not practice well, he did not "eat life" (beaten).
When he was in elementary school at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he was once regarded as an unenlightened child, with a poor sense of music and unstable pitch, and would only "pull violently".
From the sixth grade of primary school, Huang Mengla studied with violinist Yu Lina. "Teacher Yu's ears are very good, and as soon as I listen to it, I know how long I have been practicing the piano and whether I have practiced it with my heart." Under the careful teaching of Yu Lina, Huang Mengla took every sound he made seriously and made great progress in his skills.
Childhood Yellow Monla
One day, Huang Mengla's father and son went to Teacher Yu's house to play and inadvertently tried to play a famous piano. On the way home, Huang Mengla has been intoxicated by the feeling of trying to play, but the price of this piano is very expensive. Father said to him, "Do you really like that piano?" If you really like it, we will buy it, and you will have to pull it well in the future! ”
In his junior year, Huang Mengla used this piano to win his first gold medal at the Sendai International Violin Competition in Japan.
In 2002, carrying the beloved violin and carrying the prize money he earned from the Sendai Competition in Japan, Huang Mengla went to Italy at his own expense, and his goal was the famous Paganini International Violin Competition.
When it came to Italy, everything didn't go well. Living in a crowded youth hostel, unable to find a suitable place to practice, he also experienced a cold.
There are three rounds of the Paganini International Violin Competition, the second round requires the performance of a modern work, and Huang Mengla carefully prepared the Chinese song "Morning in Miaoling". As the day of the competition approached, he suddenly found himself neglecting an important detail of the competition— that the work could not be accompanied by a piano. And the piece he prepared is accompanied by an accompaniment.
In a hurry, Huang Mengla had to find the competition repertoire again, and in the face of unfamiliar musical scores, he sharpened his gun and practiced for three days. In the end, with excellent skills, he successfully reached the final of 6 people. In the final, when he finished playing the Paganini Violin Concerto, the audience was full of joy and applause.
The 22-year-old Huang Mengla not only won the gold medal at the Paganini International Violin Competition, which had been vacant for many years, but also won the "Capriccio Best Performance Award" that year. Some media called him "Oriental Paganini".
"Back to Nature"
Huang Mengla, who returned home with great fame, soon held concerts in Shanghai, and has since performed in many cities across the country. His name is becoming known to more and more people.
Winning awards in international competitions, performing in various places, signing record labels, and releasing records are the regular paths for many outstanding young musicians to enter their careers.
However, 20 years ago, there were only a few professional concert halls and grand theaters in the country, few mature performance agencies, and classical music audiences were concentrated in a few cities. Some cities simply can't find a formal venue, and classical music can only be performed in cinemas.
Huang Mengla decided to return to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to continue his master's studies. He then went to London, England, where he studied under the Hungarian violinist Gioge Parker. In 2008, he was admitted to the Ruebeck Academy of Music in Germany.
In 2011, after returning from school, Huang Mengla was pleasantly surprised to find that theaters and concert halls in major cities had sprung up, and the audience for classical music had gradually increased.
A Huang Mengla, who has a new thinking about music, appeared in front of the audience, and he was frequently active on the music stage at home and abroad. At the same time, he also taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
If in the first decade after winning the gold medal of the Paganini International Violin Competition, Huang Mengla explored and accumulated in confusion, then in the second decade, he obviously found a broader stage.
Every once in a while, Huang Mengla likes to find an empty place alone to empty himself, or walk, or think, which is a necessary blank space in his life. He is always looking for new feelings, new experiences, to inspire new ways of playing.
Once, he liked to hang out on Wukang Road. At one point, he liked to go to the Front Beach. Recently, he prefers to go to Guangfulin and enjoy the mood of "staying in the cage for a long time and returning to nature".
Huang Mengla with his friends
dialogue
The sense of proportion of the "spoon man"
Reporter: In the recent recital concert "Greetings to Love", your repertoire seems to be different from the past, mostly small works. Where did the idea for this concert come from?
Huang Mengla: "Greetings to Love" is divided into four chapters, from "The Joy of Love", "The Tenderness of Love", "The Separation of Love" to "The Rebirth of Love". I have indeed never held such a concert in the past, and thanks to the inspiration given to me by Mr. Tan Dun, who once suggested that I broaden the genre of the track.
If I compare the concertos and sonatas I used to perform to the main course, the repertoire of this concert is more like afternoon tea, or dessert. Although the work is small, it is actually very laborious. I usually make steak and occasionally make dessert, and I have to think about it again.
Reporter: This year is 20 years since you won the gold medal at the Paganini International Violin Competition, how has your understanding of music changed over the years?
Huang Mengla: When I was young, my understanding of music was hazy, and through the accumulation of these years, it is now clearer. Western classical music is rooted in Western culture and is always inseparable from imitation when learning at first. When I was young, I listened heavily to the players' cassettes and records. Every time an expert comes to the school to give a lecture, I am particularly excited. Through learning and imitating the performance of the predecessors, and then gradually groping out the musical style they want, establishing their own taste for music, and finally gradually getting rid of the influence of their predecessors.
If I compare playing to cooking, I have to make a dish that belongs to my taste. At the beginning, it is natural to strictly follow the recipe to cook, Western-style recipes usually write a gram of salt, a gram of sugar, and Chinese recipe likes to write "a little" and "moderate amount", how much is it, you have to rely on the person in charge of the spoon to grasp the measure, take it properly.
I think control and a sense of proportion are essential to shaping good music. A performance that lacks a sense of proportion cannot impress the audience. Neither too bland nor too exaggerated. The control of a musician lies in the cooperation of the brain and hands, the emotional control of themselves, and then the appropriate expression of what they think in their hearts.
Reporter: In addition to grasping the taste of each "dish", you have also been exploring new "menus" in recent years?
Huang Mengla: Yes. In 2020, 10 performers and I performed a very special chamber music adaptation of Beethoven's Ninth Violin Sonata (Kreuzer) at the Shanghai Symphony Hall. I stumbled upon a small video of the piece on the Internet, which I later discovered was adapted by the director and composer of an Australian chamber orchestra, and I emailed him hoping to buy the rights to use the work. The composer reminded me that this work requires a lot of rehearsal and is very difficult. For me, since you can write it, we can act, as long as others have acted, we can act well.
This concert is very enjoyable, but unfortunately only one performance, because of the epidemic, it is not easy to put everyone together.
I have also collaborated with guitarist Yang Xuefei on several violin and guitar concerts over the years, and we will do so again this year.
Reporter: I heard that every once in a while you will find a "secret space" to walk and empty yourself, whenever this time, do you listen to music? What music do you like to listen to?
Huang Mengla: I like to listen to piano sonatas, such as mozart and Bach, and I also like to listen to guitar and rut. Rarely listen to the violin.
Reporter: Since you were a child with the violin, in your mind, what kind of instrument is this, or what kind of "friend" is it?
Huang Mengla: The violin is an instrument with great emotional tension, especially in the treble area, which can grasp people's hearts and "rub" repeatedly. Other instruments seem to have a hard time surpassing the violin in this regard, and of course the cello has this ability, but it is still different. The violin is an instrument that is difficult to control, and the performer has wanted to control it all his life, but if he is not careful, he will be harnessed by it. The realm of "unity of man and man" requires persistent practice.