Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
The opening concert of "Chinese Music Spring" was performed. Niu Xiaobei photographed
Li Xincao (first from right), Lü Jia (center) and Liu Sha conducted the opening concert of "Spring of Chinese Music" on the same stage. Niu Xiaobei photographed
Five eight tones, twelve laws, national style and elegant rhyme. In the early spring when spring is harmonious and everything is revived, the first "Spring of Chinese Music" of the National Centre for the Performing Arts kicked off on April 8. This is the first national music-themed festival launched by the National Centre for the Performing Arts after the successful holding of the "Chinese Symphony Spring" for the 7th session.
During the 21-day period, nearly 10 national orchestras from China and more than 30 contemporary Chinese music masters gathered together to play colorful Chinese music with different styles on the motherland, with the integration of traditional and modern interpretation, showing the artistic inheritance and development of national music culture.
The highlights are refreshing
The opening concert of the first "Spring of Chinese Music" was jointly planned by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Central Chinese Orchestra. As the first concert, it has been carefully designed in terms of guest lineup, performance repertoire or architecture design, which is refreshing.
The concert specially invited Li Xincao, director and principal conductor of the China Symphony Orchestra, Lu Jia, music and artistic director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and Liu Sha, chief conductor of the Central Chinese Orchestra, to share the stage. Li Xincao and Lü Jia, two famous conductors in the Chinese symphony community, presented their "folk music debut" to the audience on the same stage.
Lu Jia took the lead with a song "Yun shan yan mi". As the helmsman of the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, Lu Jia conducts nearly 2,000 operas and concerts in Europe and the United States. He was the first Asian conductor to serve as music director of a prestigious opera house in Italy and the first Chinese conductor to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In his many years of artistic career, he has never conducted a national orchestra. This time, he held hands with the Central Chinese Orchestra for the first time, and in terms of song selection, Lu Jiayi highlighted the charm and beauty of folk music.
"This is my first time conducting a national orchestra, both nervous and joyful, and there is a new challenge and joy in working with national musicians. Interpreting the colors, lines and rhythms in folk music works is a very fulfilling thing. Although I have never conducted a folk orchestra before, I am very concerned about national music, and how to promote and develop national music is a major issue in front of us. As a conductor, I will do my part. Lu Jia said.
Also conducting folk music for the first time, conductor Li Xincao received thunderous applause as soon as he took the stage in the second half. Under the direction of Li Xincao, the orchestra has a rich and changing tone, progressing layer by layer, staggering, and vividly interpreting the style and bone of the country and the spirit of the nation. Li Xincao became famous at a young age, with a musical footprint on five continents, and his achievements in the field of symphony and opera have attracted much attention, and he has served as the chief music conductor in the literary and artistic performances of national diplomatic activities more times. Speaking about conducting folk music for the first time, Li Xincao said: "I have little involvement in large-scale ethnic orchestras, and this is the first time I have conducted a complete large-scale national orchestra in Beijing. Eastern and Western music is interconnected. The requirements for syntax and musical character in the conducting of Western music also apply to Chinese folk music. ”
Famous groups, showing the accumulated results
Constructing the entire concert with a large-scale national orchestra is a highly difficult challenge to the artistic standard of conducting, and it is also a high-intensity test of the quality, skill and cooperation of the orchestra. "This time, the symphony conductor was invited to conduct folk music, hoping to achieve a combination of breadth and depth." Zhao Cong, head of the Central Chinese Orchestra and pipa player, said.
According to reports, in order to fully display the profound accumulation of the development of national music in the past century, as well as the fruitful results achieved after entering the new era, the opening concert selected 12 songs that are very representative in the field of national music in recent years: the opening song "Yunshan Yanmiao" around the theme of the Chaozhou zhengqu "Hu Di Eighteen Beats" developed, varied and reconstructed, and the tune with the legacy of the Han and Tang Dynasties has the magnificent and atmospheric beauty of Chaozhou music, bringing the audience back to the prosperous era of the Han and Tang Dynasties; the "General Order" derived from the pipa ancient song shows that the spring day of chinese music has arrived. The spirit of the time; the commissioned work "National Style" highlights the Chinese style and national spirit with a distinct musical character...
"China's national orchestras have been developing for 100 years, especially in the past 20 years. Whether it is in terms of the production process of musical instruments, the level of contemporary performers and orchestras, or the requirements of the creation of works, they have improved rapidly. In the past, there has never been a platform for mutual exchanges and exchanges, and this 'Spring of Chinese Music' provides us with a good platform, which is of great significance to the development and popularization of Chinese national music. Liu Sha said.
It is understood that at this year's "Chinese Music Spring" art festival, in addition to the Central Chinese Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, the China Coal Mine Cultural and Labor Troupe, the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, the China Conservatory of Music, the Chinese Music School Chinese Orchestra and other Chinese orchestras in Beijing, as well as the Suzhou National Orchestra, Hebei Chinese Orchestra, Jilin Provincial Chinese Orchestra and other local Chinese orchestras will also appear one after another.
In terms of artistic lineup, more than 30 famous Chinese musicians of the three generations of old, middle and young people, such as Jiang Kemei, Zhou Dongchao, Cui Junzhi, Tang Junqiao, Han Lei, Zhang Weiliang, Song Fei, Wang Zhongshan, Wu Yuxia, and Zhao Cong, will perform on stage. The repertoire includes ancient songs such as "Spring River Flower Moon Night" and "Overlord Unloading Armor" that have been passed down for many years, classics written by composers of the older generation such as Peng Xiuwen, Hu Dengjiao, Liu Dehai, Gu Guanren, etc., the masterpieces of contemporary composers such as Shi Wanchun, Zhao Jiping, Zhang Qianyi and the works of young composers, and classics and innovative works coexist. In terms of form, it includes solo, concerto, ensemble, folk music chamber music and so on.
"We will strive to make the 'Spring of Chinese Music' a folk music event where famous artists gather, and show the audience the heritage, extensibility and artistry of folk music." Wang Luquan, deputy director of the Performance Department of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, said. According to her, in addition to the cross-border baton of conductors and the adaptation of folk music of Western classical music, starting from this session, each "Spring of Chinese Music" will also explore and present a special closing performance, that is, around a national instrument, forming a highly ceremonial and famous planned concert. This year's closing special planning concert has been identified as the "Lute Night" where famous pipa players gather.
"In the more than 20 days from opening to closing, the launch of 'Chinese Music Spring' as a music season reflects everyone's confidence in the folk music market." In recent years, the national style and national tide have received more and more attention and love. It is hoped that the 'Spring of Chinese Music' can rely on the mature brand operation mechanism of the National Centre for the Performing Arts to grow rapidly, and play a greater role in promoting the integrity and innovation of national music, enhancing the artistic standards and social influence of national music, and aggregating famous national music troupes. Zhao Cong said. (Reporter Zheng Na)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (April 18, 2022, Page 07)