20 years ago, Xin Xin, a 22-year-old girl from Xi'an, went to France alone to pursue her dream of music. Through her efforts, she was admitted to the National Symphony Orchestra of Lille in France, becoming the first Chinese violinist in the orchestra. Over the years, she has founded music associations, given music lectures, given concerts in France... More and more French people fell in love with the Chinese style, and her Chinese classical scores have been copied by musicians around the world in hundreds of copies. Sparing no effort to use the borderless language - music, to spread Chinese culture in Europe, has become Xin Xin's proudest and happiest thing in these years.
Simsin (left) leads the artists of the Music Society to perform Beethoven's chamber music trio at the Lille Concert Hall. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Went to France alone
Xi'an girls got the ticket to the world-famous orchestra as they wished
Influenced by her family, six-year-old Xin Xin began to fall in love with violin playing. In 2001, after graduating from the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, she dreamed of entering Europe, the birthplace of classical music, and studied at the École Supérieure des Conservatoires in Paris, France.
When she first arrived in Paris, Xin Xin was fortunate to be cultivated by Violin master Professor Devy Erlih. "The teaching method here is very free, and I can learn from many teachers according to my favorite musical style and learn from their respective strengths." At the same time, Mr. Luc Héry, Chief of the French National Symphony of NationalIties, and Professor Marianne Piketty of the French National Conservatory of Music also gave Xin Xin great help in professional and artistic practice, which gave her the opportunity to perform in the Youth Orchestra of the French Ministry of Culture. "I have performed on the same stage with many famous musicians and opera performance artists, and their precise requirements for music and their boundless passion for music have greatly broadened my horizons and absorbed a lot of nutrients."
There is no shortcut to learning the piano, and hard practice is the only way to success. "In Paris back then, air conditioning was rare. In order not to affect my neighbors, I always have the doors and windows closed when I practice every day. In the summer, after seven or eight hours of practice, the sweat on the body will soak all the clothes. Even so, I was often complained to the police station by my neighbors, which forced me to move again and again. "The small ups and downs in life cannot extinguish Xin Xin's dedication to music." In addition to studying and performing, she entered the theater as soon as she had the opportunity to listen to various performances by the world's top musicians, enriching herself while gradually forming a unique playing style.
Unlike many freelance musicians in France, Xin Xin especially hopes to be admitted to a Professional French Orchestra. "In this way, I have more opportunities to collaborate with the world's best musicians, to perform all over the world, and to play our Chinese-style music for the world audience."
With such a original intention, Xin Xin ushered in one of the world's top ten symphony orchestras, the Paris Symphony Orchestra rare recruitment opportunity. "There was a trial session that was a very test of skill, and the examiner gave us a sheet music that we had never seen before, and after two minutes of familiarity, we had to play it in one go."
She went forward with confidence, "I didn't even pass the first test, which was really a big blow." After countless repetitions, her arms hurt so much that she couldn't lift them, and she had to take anti-inflammatory drugs to barely control the pain. Kung Fu paid off, and in the spring and autumn, she finally got her wish to get the admission ticket to the world-famous orchestra - the French Lille National Symphony Orchestra, and became a colleague with the familiar music masters.
Austria, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Russia... After working, Xin Xin's footprints have traveled all over the world, and her technology has become more and more sophisticated. The École des Beaux-Conservatoire de Paris is a senior violin and chamber music performer, the first prize of the International Music Competition UFAM, and the special prize of the 15th FLAME Violin Competition.
Founding of the Music Association
Let the French people fall in love with the Chinese style
"Whenever I perform in a country, I try to incorporate some Chinese elements into the music as much as possible. Especially when they heard Chinese violin famous songs such as "Long Love", "Qiao Girl", "Liang Zhu" and so on, the European audience responded strongly, and the new melody made them unfinished. ”
The audience's response inspired Xin Xin to find a friend, female pianist Ana Giurgiu-Bondue, in 2015 in France to establish the "Life and Music" music association, bringing different styles of Chinese music to the French people, and looking forward to more people to understand China.
As long as the orchestra did not perform, Xin Xin was busy with the Music Association.
Every weekend, concert halls and churches are Xin Xin's first choice. She invited cellos, double bass, percussionists and singers to combine different instruments to play different Chinese styles, a collection of Chinese violin pieces was performed by them, mixing and matching winds brought unexpected performance effects, the concert venue was full, the applause was thunderous, and it was also featured in the local media several times. The European Times once reported on the colorful activities of the association under the title of "From Chinese Musicians to Chinese Music - The Music Association Flourishes and Goes Deep into Schools to Carry Out Enlightenment Education Activities".
"Chinese music has brought great shock to the locals, and often other cities invite our association to play, and we all gladly go there. Even if it is sometimes a charity performance, as long as more Europeans can understand Chinese music and feel the beauty of Chinese melody, we are worth the trip! ”
Not only was the audience fascinated, Xin xin's peers also fell madly in love with the sheet music in her hand. "Xin, I like this piece of yours so much, can I go and copy the sheet music and want to add this piece to my orchestra?" In this way, dozens of musical scores such as "The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan", "Celebrating the Harvest", "Homesick Song", "Fishing Boat Singing Evening" and so on have been copied by musicians in hundreds of copies, and the melodious Chinese melody floats on the lawn, theater, street, and also floats into the hearts of more French people.
In the same year, by chance, Xin Xin also joined the "World Peace Symphony Orchestra" under UNESCO, and together with musicians from all over the world, used music to convey and call for peace to the world!
"What I remember vividly is that after the Charlie Hebdo shooting in France, I and the musicians of Britain, the United States, Austria, Russia and other countries in the orchestra immediately gathered from all directions to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and played the pathetic Barber song "The Soft Plate of Strings".
Share your experience from the arts
Hopefully, there will be more Chinese faces in the European music scene
Xin Xin, who has achieved great success, has also been appointed as an artistic consultant for the Orchestra of the University of Lille, and she often advises and assists young musicians at the University of Lille.
For the artistic enlightenment of young people, Xin Xin paid more attention to it. "Since 1980, there are still very few Chinese who have come to France to study violin and stay in French professional orchestras, including only 5 people, and I very much hope that there will be more and more Chinese faces and Chinese voices in the European music scene." Xin Xin said.
"Lille is the capital of the French province of Haute-de-France and has about 20,000 Chinese. Among the next generation of Chinese, there are countless small musicians. Most of our Chinese children started early, and every time I played Chinese music in a concert, these little fans would hum along with it, and the French were particularly surprised by the musical literacy of the second generation of Chinese. In the future, I want these little music fans to move from the stage to the center of the stage, and I will play with them, give them more opportunities to perform, let them understand: you love music, get close to music, work tirelessly, and one day, you will become the protagonist of the stage.
Xin Xin, who has been away from his homeland for 20 years, has an infinite attachment to his hometown. "As long as the motherland needs it, I will arrange it immediately." In recent years, Xin Xin has been invited to participate in the Shanghai International Arts Festival, cooperating with the famous conductor and pianist Mr. Xu Zhong as the principal violinist, and participating in many performances and exchanges of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Youth Orchestra. At the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, together with other internationally renowned symphony orchestras invited to the world, she made the world look at China and look at Chinese music, and achieved excellent results. In her hometown of Xi'an, she walked into Wanbang Book City and shared her knowledge of European classical music, playing techniques and years of artistic experience with her friends who like music. Recently, she was also invited by the CCTV Music Channel's "Fight against the New Crown Pneumonia Epidemic" special program to record a clip of Beethoven's 9th Symphony "Ode to Joy" with Chinese musicians from all over the world, in order to call on and inspire Chinese people to work with the people of the world to strengthen their belief and determination to win the epidemic! (Xi'an Newspaper All-Media Reporter TuoLing)
Edit: Xiao Lu