Last year, the fence of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music near the Huaihai Middle Road area was removed, and the different styles of historic buildings and a large garden of 3,300 square meters were connected to the surrounding neighborhood, making the building readable and the neighborhood strollable. Among them, the four-storey century-old German-style garden residence adjacent to the Shangyin Opera House has attracted much attention, attracting many citizens and tourists to "check in", and affectionately call it the "Music Castle".
Now, six historic buildings, including the "Music Castle", have been renovated and will be opened soon, and some of the building spaces will be open to the public for reservations, creating an open art space and an elegant art palace for the public. On December 28, the first visitors will be welcomed here.
Through renovation, these century-old buildings of different styles have been restored to their former appearance, and have been given new functions and missions. By appointment, citizens can enter the old building to touch the details of history, listen to a chamber music concert, see an exhibition, visit the Museum of Oriental Musical Instruments, and even meet musicians from all over the world.
Liao Changyong, President of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said: "The campus is not just a simple physical opening, I hope that after entering the campus, everyone can see the rehearsals, listen to the concerts, meet the masters, and feel the historical accumulation and strong academic atmosphere of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in the past 100 years." We hope to create an open art space and elegant palace for the citizens to serve the construction of a 'people's city'." ”
Step into the "Castle of Music"
Repair the old as the old, so that the beauty of a hundred years ago can be seen again
Hu Xiaohua, a designer who participated in the renovation work, took the reporter to step up the layers of stairs and enter the "Music Castle" at No. 1131 Huaihai Middle Road. It is a four-storey German-style building in a typical Bavarian style. The stained glass glistens in the sunlight, and the interior is even more special.
Originally, the building was wrapped and blocked by a building of more than 800 square meters, and its beauty was sealed. After demolition and overall restoration, its original beauty was restored to people.
Before the renovation of the "Castle of Music".
After the renovation of the "Castle of Music".
A creaking wooden staircase, which tells the story of time, leads up the stairs to the top attic. In different rooms, fireplaces, tiles, and wallpapers of different shapes are dizzying. There are many "Dionysus" motifs on the reliefs and wood decorations, echoing the three Dionysian sculptures on the tower on the north side of the building.
"Bacchus" motif on wood ornaments
Hu Xiaohua said: "'Bacchus' is the hidden tone of the building, and we speculate that the owner of the building at that time may have loved to drink. At the same time, the 'god of wine' represents harvest and rebirth, which may also be the feeling that the city of Shanghai brings to them. ”
The 15 stained glass windows reveal colorful light and shadow, and most of them are decorated with fruit wood flowers and birds. Next to the staircase leading to the second floor, there are 4 stained glass doors with the theme of "Returning to the Swallow in Spring". Hu Xiaohua told reporters that there were originally many traces of damage on these stained glass windows, which were rejuvenated through local repair and cleaning. Looking closely at the swallow's unfurled wings and gradient leaves, it is difficult to discern the traces of repair. "Although the stained glass process is complicated, there are many skilled craftsmen in Shanghai, and the craftsmanship is very mature. ”
Restored stained glass in the "Castle of Music".
Restored stained glass in the "Castle of Music".
During the renovation of the "Castle of Music", many of the structures that were built later were demolished. After the sun room on the second floor was demolished, the layers of decoration on the wall were peeled away, and the wooden doors and windows full of traces of time were revealed. Wooden doors connect the interior space to the outdoor rooftop. Push the door out, and the eyes suddenly open up, and you can enjoy the scenery of Shangyin Campus and Huaihai Road. "The workers knocked on it and found that the wall was hollow, and then peeled it by hand, like peeling an onion, to show the original appearance of the historical building. It is very rare to find such a dense, varied and regionally styled wooden component. Hu Xiaohua said.
After the renovation, the original wooden doors and windows were restored and connected to the open roof
There are many memories of Shangyin teachers and students in the "Music Castle". In the seventies and eighties of the last century, the Music Castle became the library of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In the room with 12 arched floor-to-ceiling windows, Wang Yipin, a consultant at the infrastructure department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, recalled: "Back then, this room was full of the latest foreign research materials. Dean He Luting, Dean Ding Shande, Dean Tan Shuzhen, and Dean Zhou Xiaoyan will regularly read books and magazines here. At that time, everyone brought pen and paper and carefully copied it. ”
Before the renovation of the "Castle of Music".
After the renovation of the "Castle of Music".
Of the six historic buildings, the largest is the "City Concert Parlor" at No. 1209 Huaihai, which has 1,933 square meters and was built in 1912. This is a typical French-style building, with doors, windows and columns stacked on top of each other, like a time and space tunnel, pulling people back to the past. Designer Zhao Feng introduced that the repair process followed the principle of "repairing the old as the old", and the original paint on the wall was stripped and cleaned, and the background color of the clear water red bricks was restored.
"City Concert Lounge" at sunset
As soon as you step into the building, you will be attracted by the mosaic tiles in the shape of grapes underfoot. This is cut by hand, and then the color is selected and spliced together, and the color is still warm. Looking up at the ceiling, there is also a mystery in the ceiling. This is made of paper pressed into a mold, and after the shape is done, the surface is brushed with latex paint, which is extremely rare in Shanghai villa houses.
Mosaic floor tiles full of history
The most striking room in the building is the Hall of Mirrors, which is surrounded by mirrors on all sides. It was once a small 80-seat concert hall surrounded by teak wainscoting with intricate carvings that have remained intact over the centuries. There is a grand piano in the room, and you can always have a chamber music concert.
"Hall of Mirrors"
In Hu Xiaohua's view, the restoration of old buildings is as important as the historicity and the times. On the one hand, designers should restore the details of history through the collection and verification of various materials such as photos and documents, and on the other hand, they should also pay attention to the functionality of the building today.
"We can't live like people 100 years ago, so we need to take into account the comfort of the building, so we add air conditioning, lighting, etc., to fit into the era we live in. At the same time, 100 years ago, these buildings were private residences, but today, they will open their doors and be enjoyed by the citizens, so we will design the space to be more open, adapt to the new positioning and function, and serve more people. Hu Xiaohua said.
Detail of the staircase after the renovation
It's not just buildings that are open
On December 28, several renovated historic buildings will be unveiled to the public for the first time. Liao Changyong said that each of these old buildings will have a different positioning and function.
In the "Music Castle" at No. 1131 Huaihai Middle Road, the "Hold the Truth - Special Exhibition to Commemorate the 120th Anniversary of He Luting's Birth" will be held, using historical photos, precious manuscripts, video and audio and other materials to highly condense the life of the "people's musician" He Luting. In the future, the "Music Castle" will become a veritable "Opera Castle", which will be linked with the Shangyin Opera House to hold related lectures, salons, creative meetings, etc.
In the "Hall of Mirrors" of the "City Concert Parlor" at No. 1209 Huaihai Middle Road, a small chamber music concert will be held. In the future, it will become an important base for international music education, hosting important international competitions and high-level music performances. On January 1, 2024, Tang Junqiao, a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a bamboo flute player, will hold a lecture and concert in the "Hall of Mirrors", saying: "What is open is not only the building itself, but also the music of Shangyin and the culture of the university. ”
The renovated "City Concert Parlor"
The Aesthetic Education Building at No. 1189 Huaihai Middle Road will be transformed into an Oriental Musical Instrument Museum. The more than 700 musical instruments in the collection of the Oriental Musical Instrument Museum on Gao'an Road will find their "new home" in the renovated Aesthetic Education Building. The Oriental Musical Instrument Museum is the first musical instrument museum in China's art academies, with hundreds of ancient Chinese musical instruments, modern Chinese musical instruments, ethnic minority musical instruments and foreign ethnic musical instruments. The ancient Chinese musical instruments include a replica of the Jiahu bone flute more than 8,000 years ago and a replica of the bell of Zeng Hou Yi more than 2,000 years ago.
In addition, the old office building and expert building at No. 20 Fenyang Road have also been renovated and renewed. The two-storey specialist building sits on a lawn, with rows of red tiles and high and low eaves. In front of the house stands a sculpture of a generation of music master Huang Zi, and people often send a bouquet of flowers in front of the sculpture.
Specialist building after renovation
Looking at many quaint old buildings, the small modern style house at No. 1199 Huaihai Middle Road is unique. It is said that architecture is solidified music, and different old buildings are like different styles of music. They will be given a new function and mission to continue the story of music.
With the opening of the historical buildings of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to the public, the music districts with Fuxing Middle Road, Fenyang Road, Baoqing Road and Huaihai Middle Road as the core have been further expanded, leaving the best resources and more space for rest and strolling for the public. Well-known music institutions, performance venues and characteristic businesses such as Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shangyin Opera House, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Blackstone M+ Music Park, and Shanghai Symphony Museum echo each other to attract more citizens and tourists through the integration of culture and tourism.
The renovated office building
A few years ago, music fan Zheng Yingfeng moved his family to the neighborhood. In his "15-minute community life circle", attending a concert is as common as buying groceries, and he likes to walk around the neighborhood and walk into old buildings on weekdays. "There are so many old buildings in this neighborhood that deserve to be quiet and read and explore, and they have become a part of my life. It is precisely because of these old buildings that Zheng Yingfeng began to spontaneously explore the culture of the neighborhood where he lives, and feel the thickness and temperature of the city.
Zheng Yingfeng has listened to many concerts at the Shangyin Opera House and He Luting Concert Hall, and in the future, he hopes to visit the campus more often and enjoy an immersive chamber music performance or a live opera performance in the old building. Zheng Yingfeng also hopes that when citizens and tourists walk into the campus and enjoy the beauty of architecture and music, they will not disturb the Shangyin students studying in it, so that they can have a quiet learning and Xi environment.
A window in the "City Concert Parlor".
A few years ago, at the Open Week of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Liao Changyong told reporters that he had a wish that one day, the campus would no longer hold an open week, but would be able to turn openness into a norm. "Universities should not have walls, art should be the same, and art institutions should form a positive interaction with citizens and urban culture. We hope to open up the walls, enhance the connection between the campus and the city, and contribute to the construction of urban culture. ”
Here, you can experience the style of the masters and witness the rise of new stars
The renovated "Music Castle" has recently welcomed many world-class masters. The master studio of Domingo, one of the "world's three major tenors", and Deng Taishan, the champion of the Chopin International Piano Competition, has been listed in the "Castle of Music", and Daniel Vermini, chairman of the Italian Rossini Opera Festival and deputy mayor of Pesaro, has also signed a cooperation framework agreement with Shangyin here, and will jointly produce operas and jointly cultivate talents in the future.
Whether it is Domingo, who is visiting Shangyin for the first time, or Deng Taishan, who is visiting again after 20 years, they are deeply impressed by the campus environment and discipline construction of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. There are not only historic buildings, but also modern opera houses with first-class acoustics that allow for a seamless transition from classroom to stage.
The studio of pianist Deng Taishan Maestro is listed in the "Castle of Music" provided by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Having raced on the international stage for many years, Domingo understands the importance of stage practice. "It's been a pleasure to work with young artists and witness their growth. There are a lot of outstanding vocal talents in China, and I am willing to give my time and energy to help them go to the world stage. ”
Sun Yingdi, deputy director of the Shangyin Piano Department, believes that learning Xi from the master is not only to learn the specific techniques of a certain piece of music, but more importantly, to improve the aesthetics and perception of music, art and even life. "Today's music students are blessed to receive the insights of the masters at the peak of their artistic lives. ”
No. 1199 Huaihai Middle Road, a small modern style western-style building
Over the years, many of the world's leading musicians have come to teach or set up studios, from Fu Cong to Perlman to Domingo. More and more master studios are landing on the ground, and in Liao Changyong's view, it is a "two-way rush". "Shanghai is an important window to showcase Chinese culture. We hope to have more in-depth cooperation with masters in the future, build a world-class art education and exchange platform for students, and cultivate top-notch innovative art talents. ”
How to open up world-class high-quality teaching resources to the whole society is a problem that Shangyin has been thinking about. Not long ago, the 6th International Cello Festival of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music was held on campus, and cellists Wang Jian, David Greengas, Philippe Müller, Richard Allen, Qin Liwei, Yang Wenxin, Marty Rossi, Jin Yanzhen, Yang Meng and other famous teachers have brought 9 master classes, all of which are open to the public for free. At the entrance of Shangyin, there are many students with cello cases on their backs, and they come from all over the country to participate.
Cellist Wang Jian gives a master class to young students provided by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Wang Jian, a cello professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said that it was "so difficult" for him to take a master class with an internationally renowned performer when he was a teenager, not only because he had to prepare for his own visas, air tickets, hotels and other expenses, but also traveled thousands of miles just to see a good teacher. "I envy that young people nowadays can have a broader artistic vision to look at music and understand art. ”
Knowing that the "Musical Castle" and other historical buildings will soon be open to the public, music fans are most looking forward to the future of being able to step into the building, listen to a master class, and listen to the young music students try their first try.
A corner of the "Castle of Music".
Lin Li's father was also a music fan, and in the 80s of the last century, he was a loyal audience of Shangyin's "Weekly Concert". At that time, the concert was often crowded with foreign audiences. Tickets cost only a few cents, and they are often hard to find, often attracting "scalpers". My father said that he had heard many young buddies play there, many of whom went on to become well-known performers. ”
Compared with architecture, Lin Li said that after the opening, what attracted him the most was the "people" in the building. "I look forward to rubbing shoulders with world-famous musicians in the cradle of musicians, seeing the growth of fledgling talents, and witnessing the birth of inspiration and works. ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Image source: Photo by Dong Tianye
Source: Author: Wu Tong