Chen Qing. Courtesy of respondents
Chen Qing in the performance. Courtesy of respondents
Character business card
Chen Qing, head of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and secretary of the party branch, is a famous oboe player. Founded in 1957, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra is one of the earliest symphony orchestras established after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the only symphony orchestra in China that has toured on five continents.
This year marks Chen Qing's 10th year as the director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (hereinafter referred to as the Canton Symphony Orchestra) and his 30th year of joining the orchestra. He said that he has been in the orchestra for half his life, and his biggest wish is to serve the orchestra until retirement. "I love the orchestra, I love this career, I can say my youth, I spent most of my time in the orchestra, no regrets. Some difficult setbacks are insignificant compared to love. Undoubtedly, Chen Qing has been deeply linked to Canton, and each other's growth trajectory has a deep imprint left by the other. The history of Chen Qing's struggle in the "first half of his life" is also the "history of development" of the rapid growth of Canton.
epidemic situation
I was not nervous about trying to perform online
"A lot of people have asked me, 'Do you prefer to perform in front of the stage, or behind the scenes?' Will you miss the days when you used to play frequently?' In fact, the two roles can coexist, not contradictory, but need to choose. However, the sense of accomplishment brought to me by the two fields is different, and I feel that no matter where I am, I can do my job well. It's just that compared to the role of the performer who brings more personal fulfillment, I feel that as the leader of the group, with the joint efforts of everyone, if we can make our city feel proud of having this orchestra, we will get a greater sense of accomplishment. Now Chen Qing is busy with many aspects of the orchestra, he not only has to work with the orchestra's music director and famous conductor Yu Long to plan the orchestra's artistic development and create a first-class music season, pay attention to every performance and activity of the orchestra, but also promote the development of the administrative team.
"Because of the epidemic, there are more work that need to be adjusted in time. We want to make sure that the audience has a good front-of-stage viewing experience, and the behind-the-scenes that the audience can't see also needs us to coordinate. For example, the music season, this mode of operation has been quite mature since 1998. Before 2020, tickets for the Canton Music Season were sold out a year in advance and sold out quickly. Chen Qing said. However, even after June 2020, even if offline performances are resumed, the uncertainty is still more, our pre-sale ticket system has stopped, and foreign first-class musicians cannot come to communicate as before, so in order for the concert to be held as scheduled, we must take precautions, and set up in advance with foresight and foresight, which is the main task of the music director and me. ”
However, although there are many variables and trivial things, it is difficult to feel anxious and uneasy in Chen Qing, which in addition to his calm and indifferent personality, also seems to stem from his trust in the orchestra. "No trepidation. Even during the initial epidemic, cantonese as the first orchestra to perform online, I was not nervous about this unprecedented attempt. Since 1998, we have been recording reserves, accumulating more than 4,000 pieces of music, even if they are played continuously every day, they can not repeat for ten years, which is the confidence of the orchestra. ”
orchestra
"The seniors laid a good foundation, and I passed it on here"
In Chen Qing's speech, the subject he uses more often is "we", he will always mention his predecessors and teams and even music fans, in his mouth, he is more like a inheritor, inheriting the past and opening up the future, waiting for the future. "From quality to artists, the Canton Music Season is in line with the world and benchmarked, and in the words of our music director, Mr. Yu Long, it is a world standard. There is also our Guangzhou Youth Symphony Orchestra (Guangzhou Youth Symphony Orchestra), its model is also a classic case in the world. It can be said that under the impetus of generations of Cantonese friends to the present, like my artistic leader Yu Qizheng, the old leader of the regiment, laid a very good foundation, I inherit here, and will also develop in a clearer and more benign direction in the future. ”
When it comes to the difficulties and glory experienced by the orchestra, Chen Qing has endless words.
"Before 1996, the orchestra was not running very well, and everyone would do some part-time work after work, at that time, a foreign record company wanted to sign me, saying that it was going to build a Chinese 'Kenny Key', which was the only time I almost wavered and chose to change careers. But I was very grateful, when my mentor, Yu Qizheng, sent me to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts for two years of further study, under the direction of Professor Anthony Camden, the dean of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, who is a famous British oboe player, the principal oboe of the London Symphony Orchestra, and the chairman of the board of directors (equivalent to the head of the orchestra). The turn of the night, looking back, I found that I was now doing what he had done, which was like fate. Later, in 1997, the orchestra closed the curtain assessment, competed for posts, and in 1998, the professionalization was officially opened, and there was an effective path, and I also did my best in performance and administration, all the way, and never thought of leaving. ”
Music
The comfort is universal
"Remember Typhoon Mangkhut? In my impression, this is the only 'three stops' in Guangzhou, the day before the opening ceremony of the music season, it is not coincidental, when the tickets have been sold out, foreign musicians have arrived, and the rehearsal has been completed. Now after the outbreak of the epidemic, the response to the suspension of performances has been skillfully operated, but for that time, it was unprecedented, and we also made unprecedented arrangements, that is, to cancel the performance immediately, arrange the aftermath, and open in the form of a radio concert, broadcast on the Guangdong Radio Voice of Music channel. ”
Chen Qing explained that radio stations have a special significance, and in wartime or special times, it may be an important channel for releasing news to the outside world. After studying that night, they also temporarily changed the repertoire and chose Shostakovich's symphony "Leningrad" in the seventh C major, which was composed by the Russian composer Shostakovich during the Siege of Leningrad by the German fascists in 1941, and used music to celebrate the people's tenacious struggle in difficult conditions and broadcast it on the radio. "At that time, as the leader of the regiment, I drafted a speech to tell everyone that tonight's typhoon besieged the city, but we hoped to use the power of music to bring confidence and support to everyone, and also to pay tribute to the frontline workers." From this, I also think that our work actually has a good social significance. Later, in 2020, the orchestra stopped performing offline, and we performed online for 123 consecutive days, receiving many messages from the audience, and it was a great comfort to have music accompanied by music under the wandering emotions. ”
Symphony originated in Europe, but the comfort it brings is common, because music itself is the ultimate aural art, it spans space and also spans regions, communicating with the spiritual world of human beings with the most emotional core, and never borders.
mission
We can use music to show the cultural landscape
Chen Qing has always hoped that, in addition to soothing the hearts of the audience, Canton Can become the voice representing Guangzhou, and also hopes that Canton Can Play China's Cultural Story Well. "I remember the first time the orchestra went abroad to perform, to the Musikverein in Vienna, when the backstage was quiet, the atmosphere was tense, and it was more like a pilgrimage than a performance. Later, we toured five continents, and one day backstage at the Sydney Opera House, I suddenly realized that everyone was talking and laughing, and they looked relaxed and calm. At that moment, I felt the transformation of the orchestra, we were no longer subject to review, we were here to show off. We can use music, with our musicians, to show our culture. ”
Chen Qing's most impressive experience was the National Day of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China in 2019. On that day, the Symphony Orchestra of 1,000 People played the strongest sound in Tiananmen Square and spread all over the world, and the Canton Symphony Orchestra also participated. "No such form of representation has ever been seen in Europe, and our country's choice of symphony on a major occasion shows that we are an open, inclusive and confident country."
As the head of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and a well-known oboe player in China, Chen Qing stands at the forefront of the industry and thinks about loneliness and dreams. He has already surrendered himself to the music itself. "I came from a musical family, my father had a great influence on me, and it was a natural choice to choose the path of music, and I felt very happy to be able to maximize my personal value in the process of realizing my artistic ideals."
sound
Compared to the role of the performer, which brings more personal fulfillment, I feel that as the group leader, with the joint efforts of all of us, if we can make our city feel proud of having this orchestra, we will get a greater sense of accomplishment.
We toured five continents, and one day backstage at the Sydney Opera House, I suddenly realized that everyone was talking and laughing, and looked relaxed and calm. At that moment, I felt the transformation of the orchestra, we were no longer subject to review, we were here to show off.
——Chen Qing
Producer: Liu Lijun
Planner: Xie Jiangtao, Zuo Zhihong, Gao Chunming
Written by: Nandu and Aoyi news reporter Liu Jie