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Mei Baojiu, a well-known Peking Opera performing artist, and Hu Yongyan, a famous orchestra con- ductor, took the stage together, one wearing a Peking Opera costume, and the other wearing a Western suit. Their combined performance filled the Beijing Concert Hall nearly to capacity on April 13, 2011, as part of the program of spreading symphony to more people.
Besides the diversely costumed performers, violins, cellos, and trombones, were mixed with erhu, a two-stringed traditional Chinese instrument played with a bow, and yueqin, or zither. Such a sonic combination is rarely heard.
“It would seem as though Peking Opera and symphony orchestra can’t match each other at all,” said Mei. “It is not true.” Mei revealed that he developed his vocal skills by listening to symphonic music when he was young and this helped a lot in his opera performance.
Hu compares Western symphony orchestra and Peking Opera as distant cousins.
“They both have histories of several hundred years and the prime time of the Peking Opera coincides with the prime time of symphony,”said Hu, who added more similarities of these two art forms. Peking Opera was always performed in royal and rich families, so was symphony orchestra in old times.
“Now both of them face the same problems, such as declining audiences and promotional difficulties,” said Hu. “The combination of these two forms might help both to be more popular in different countries.”
Ye Xiaogang, Vice President of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, was in the audience at this performance, and regarded it as a good way to encourage musical communication between the East and West. “To promote Peking Opera in foreign countries and symphony in China, it is better to include local elements that can be more easily accepted by local people,” said Ye.“This is a good effort.”
But some audiences have different opinions, saying Peking Opera and symphony are of totally different styles and the combined sound is weird.
Lu Jiawen, a symphony aficionado in attendance, is one of those opponents. “There is a trend in China that almost all the performance forms can be mixed with symphony,”said Lu. “It is ridiculous.” He added, “For me, combining Peking Opera with symphony is just like eating Chinese dishes with coffee. They just don’t match.”
Hu admitted there are problems with the combination, and Chinese artists are still on the way to improve it. “The combination of Peking Opera and symphony is not new in China. In 1967, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy was performed by Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe with accompaniment by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra,” Hu said.
“The combination is not just simply putting Peking Opera and a symphony on stage together,” said Ye. “It needs skills to adapt them to each other.” Rock meets classical
Compared to Peking Opera, the combination of rock and the symphony is more popular, especially among young people.
On December 31, 2010, and January 1, 2011, Chinese veteran rock musician Cui Jian and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra joined forces for two concerts at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium.
“This attempt to combine rock and classical music will bring the audiences an absolutely different listening experience,”said Cui at a press conference on November 4, 2010, with Tan Lihua, principal conductor and Music Director of Beijing Symphony Orchestra.
“It is the first time a large-scale concert of rock and classical music has been held in China, even in Asia,” said Cui.
Cui is a singer-songwriter and trumpet player. Hailed as “the godfather of Chinese rock,” Cui started his music career as a trumpet player in the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in 1981, at the age of 20.
“I always want to be on stage with Tan, and now it has come true,” said Cui. “Thirty years ago, there were no people playing rock in China but a certain number of symphony fans. Now, the number of rock fans is greater than that of symphony. This is a big leap forward and combining them on stage is my long-awaited dream. I think now is the right time.”
In the West, the fusion of rock and symphony was conducted several decades ago, the classic Beatles songs are constantly being adapted into classical music. The Scorpions, Metallica and other famous rock bands have performed with internationally renowned orchestras. But in China, such attempts are rare.
“I was shocked when I saw the violin players suddenly stand up and dance to the music,” said Zou Hang, Music Director of the concerts. “It was all spontaneous, without any prior arrangement.
More than 80 musicians from the Beijing Symphony Orchestra were on the stage.
“They are not merely accompaniment to me,” said Cui. “Everyone plays the lead role at the concerts.”
“I think it is very cool,” said Hao Xinrui, a college student from Beijing Normal University. “It is exciting to see so many musicians on stage playing rock, especially when they are playing fast rhythms. The effect is just spectacular.” Classic comedy
On Jaunary 30, China Philharmonic Orchestra led by its artistic director and principal conductor Yu Long, together with Shanghai’s famous comedian Zhou Libo, presented a unique concert entitled A Musical Discourse Between Zhou and Yu in Beijing. It was an effort to promote and popularize symphony in China, Yu said.
Usually a solo performer, Zhou talks about the lives of urbanites in a mixture of Shanghai dialect and standard Mandarin. He has been a star of the stage in Shanghai since 2008 with his Shanghai-style standup comedy.
“This is not a performance of Shanghaistyle stand-up comedy, but my logic and humor will be the same,” said Zhou, who said he has always been a lover of classical music and his music knowledge is “amateur among professionals, but professional among amateurs.”
During the performance, Yu made an introduction of the basics of symphony mu- sic and the different sections of a symphony orchestra, while Zhou interjected with his personal interpretations.
“As always, I want to strip off the noble dress of classical music and show its real body. I related the topics to current affairs,”said Zhou. “For this performance, I compared the different sections of a symphony orchestra to the parts of a society, and revealed the relationship between an orchestra and the society.”
The program included some of the most popular works of Western classical music, such as Ludwig von Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Johann Strauss’ Radetzky March and Georges Bizet’s Carmen Overture.
“I think Zhou’s participation helps shorten the distance between the audience and symphony music, and let the audience have more fun while appreciating symphony,” said Yu.
Besides the diversely costumed performers, violins, cellos, and trombones, were mixed with erhu, a two-stringed traditional Chinese instrument played with a bow, and yueqin, or zither. Such a sonic combination is rarely heard.
“It would seem as though Peking Opera and symphony orchestra can’t match each other at all,” said Mei. “It is not true.” Mei revealed that he developed his vocal skills by listening to symphonic music when he was young and this helped a lot in his opera performance.
Hu compares Western symphony orchestra and Peking Opera as distant cousins.
“They both have histories of several hundred years and the prime time of the Peking Opera coincides with the prime time of symphony,”said Hu, who added more similarities of these two art forms. Peking Opera was always performed in royal and rich families, so was symphony orchestra in old times.
“Now both of them face the same problems, such as declining audiences and promotional difficulties,” said Hu. “The combination of these two forms might help both to be more popular in different countries.”
Ye Xiaogang, Vice President of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, was in the audience at this performance, and regarded it as a good way to encourage musical communication between the East and West. “To promote Peking Opera in foreign countries and symphony in China, it is better to include local elements that can be more easily accepted by local people,” said Ye.“This is a good effort.”
But some audiences have different opinions, saying Peking Opera and symphony are of totally different styles and the combined sound is weird.
Lu Jiawen, a symphony aficionado in attendance, is one of those opponents. “There is a trend in China that almost all the performance forms can be mixed with symphony,”said Lu. “It is ridiculous.” He added, “For me, combining Peking Opera with symphony is just like eating Chinese dishes with coffee. They just don’t match.”
Hu admitted there are problems with the combination, and Chinese artists are still on the way to improve it. “The combination of Peking Opera and symphony is not new in China. In 1967, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy was performed by Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe with accompaniment by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra,” Hu said.
“The combination is not just simply putting Peking Opera and a symphony on stage together,” said Ye. “It needs skills to adapt them to each other.” Rock meets classical
Compared to Peking Opera, the combination of rock and the symphony is more popular, especially among young people.
On December 31, 2010, and January 1, 2011, Chinese veteran rock musician Cui Jian and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra joined forces for two concerts at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium.
“This attempt to combine rock and classical music will bring the audiences an absolutely different listening experience,”said Cui at a press conference on November 4, 2010, with Tan Lihua, principal conductor and Music Director of Beijing Symphony Orchestra.
“It is the first time a large-scale concert of rock and classical music has been held in China, even in Asia,” said Cui.
Cui is a singer-songwriter and trumpet player. Hailed as “the godfather of Chinese rock,” Cui started his music career as a trumpet player in the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in 1981, at the age of 20.
“I always want to be on stage with Tan, and now it has come true,” said Cui. “Thirty years ago, there were no people playing rock in China but a certain number of symphony fans. Now, the number of rock fans is greater than that of symphony. This is a big leap forward and combining them on stage is my long-awaited dream. I think now is the right time.”
In the West, the fusion of rock and symphony was conducted several decades ago, the classic Beatles songs are constantly being adapted into classical music. The Scorpions, Metallica and other famous rock bands have performed with internationally renowned orchestras. But in China, such attempts are rare.
“I was shocked when I saw the violin players suddenly stand up and dance to the music,” said Zou Hang, Music Director of the concerts. “It was all spontaneous, without any prior arrangement.
More than 80 musicians from the Beijing Symphony Orchestra were on the stage.
“They are not merely accompaniment to me,” said Cui. “Everyone plays the lead role at the concerts.”
“I think it is very cool,” said Hao Xinrui, a college student from Beijing Normal University. “It is exciting to see so many musicians on stage playing rock, especially when they are playing fast rhythms. The effect is just spectacular.” Classic comedy
On Jaunary 30, China Philharmonic Orchestra led by its artistic director and principal conductor Yu Long, together with Shanghai’s famous comedian Zhou Libo, presented a unique concert entitled A Musical Discourse Between Zhou and Yu in Beijing. It was an effort to promote and popularize symphony in China, Yu said.
Usually a solo performer, Zhou talks about the lives of urbanites in a mixture of Shanghai dialect and standard Mandarin. He has been a star of the stage in Shanghai since 2008 with his Shanghai-style standup comedy.
“This is not a performance of Shanghaistyle stand-up comedy, but my logic and humor will be the same,” said Zhou, who said he has always been a lover of classical music and his music knowledge is “amateur among professionals, but professional among amateurs.”
During the performance, Yu made an introduction of the basics of symphony mu- sic and the different sections of a symphony orchestra, while Zhou interjected with his personal interpretations.
“As always, I want to strip off the noble dress of classical music and show its real body. I related the topics to current affairs,”said Zhou. “For this performance, I compared the different sections of a symphony orchestra to the parts of a society, and revealed the relationship between an orchestra and the society.”
The program included some of the most popular works of Western classical music, such as Ludwig von Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Johann Strauss’ Radetzky March and Georges Bizet’s Carmen Overture.
“I think Zhou’s participation helps shorten the distance between the audience and symphony music, and let the audience have more fun while appreciating symphony,” said Yu.