China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Masterful performances
Composer Tan Dun leads the China Philharmonic Orchestra at the closing concert of this year’s Beijing Music Festival, reports.
TI wanted to present a sense of nostalgia and the spirit of vibrancy of traditional Chinese musical instruments.”
he 24th Beijing Music Festival concluded with a concert at the city’s Poly Theater on Sunday that was performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of renowned composer Tan Dun. The concert was also streamed, enabling a wider audience to enjoy the classical music.
The concert, titled In Conversation with Stravinsky, featured compositions by the Russian-born composer and Tan himself.
Igor Stravinsky is considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. The China Philharmonic performed two of his pieces: Fireworks and The Firebird.
“With Fireworks, which was composed in 1908, Stravinsky’s own voice emerged for the first time as a young composer. The Firebird was the first international success for him. The two pieces were important in Stravinsky’s career and offer the audience a glimpse of his evolution,” says Tan, 64, adding that Stravinsky’s works are among his favorite compositions.
“Stravinsky’s impact on classical music is revolutionary. As a composer myself, I admire his musical creativity and sensibility.
“Over 100 years ago, when the avant-garde ballet The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris, the music, composed by Stravinsky, changed the traditional vision of ballet and stirred tension between old and new aesthetics.
“Even by contemporary standards, Stravinsky’s music is seen as avant-garde.”
During the Beijing concert, two of Tan’s pieces were also performed — an erhu concerto Fire Ritual, which was commissioned by the festival, and a double concerto for guzheng and pipa. All three are traditional musical instruments.
“My goal was to have ‘ a conversation’ with music masters from the West, and I wanted to do so with versatile Chinese musical instruments,” says Tan.
“I am always interested in composing for the old musical instruments, which provide a sense of tradition and mystery for the audience.”
Tan’s Fire Ritual is influenced by ancient ritualistic and court music. In 2018, he premiered the piece, composed for two orchestras representing people and nature, in Norway. He wrote the piece for all victims of war.
For the erhu concerto, Tan used
the two-stringed fiddle to replace the violin. Xiqin, a three-stringed fiddle, which is considered the ancestor of erhu, was also featured in the piece.
Tan recalls that he first saw xiqin during a trip to Dunhuang in Northwest China’s Gansu province that is home to the Mogao Caves, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The caves have a large number of murals, which date back to the fourth century.
“I tried to replicate musical instruments I saw on the murals,” says Tan, adding that he took photos of one such instrument, xiqin, and went to Quanzhou, Fujian
province, to get it made.
The city, on the ancient Maritime Silk Road, is a base for making such instruments, and Tan has successfully brought xiqin back to the music scene.
Lu Yiwen, who is a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, performed in the closing concert at
the Beijing festival on Tan’s invitation.
“Though the basic techniques of playing erhu and xiqin are similar, I spent a long time playing xiqin, especially on controlling the sounds made by the third string,” says the 30-year-old musician who plays both the instruments.
The erhu concerto was dedicated to people who died due to COVID19.
“The pandemic is like a war, during which many people died. I hope the music was able to comfort the audience,” Tan says.
Tan’s other work was performed at the concert by pipa player Han Yan and guzheng player Su Chang.
In 1999, Tan premiered his concerto for pipa and string orchestra. With the new arrangement, he combined the four-stringed lute and the Chinese zither with a symphony orchestra.
“Even two days before the concert, I was busy revising the music scores. I wanted to present a sense of nostalgia and the spirit of vibrancy of traditional Chinese musical instruments,” says Tan.
Born and raised in a village in Hunan province, Tan trained first at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and later moved to New York.
He has composed operas, symphonic works, concertos and choruses. His film scores include the Oscar-winning soundtrack for director Ang Lee’s martial arts movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Zhang Yimou’s Hero (2002).
The China Philharmonic Orchestra has announced that it will perform Tan’s composition Buddha Passion under the baton of conductor Yu Long on Feb 27. Inspired by the Mogao Caves, this monumental work, sung in Chinese and Sanskrit, is scored for seven soloists, choir and orchestra.
Zou Shuang, artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival, says the festival brought 24 concerts under the theme “masters and celebrations” this year.
The festival also marked significant milestones, such as the 280th anniversary of the death of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, the 100th anniversary of French composer Camille Saint-Saens’ death and the 110th anniversary of the birth of Chinese composer Ding Shande.
Chinese composers, including Tan, Guo Wenjing and Chen Qigang, were highlighted during the festival.
“It has always been our wish to bridge Chinese and Western music with programs designed to promote communication between different cultures,” says Zou.
Tan Dun, composer