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Debra [email protected]
MOST of the 1,680 seats were occupied Sunday afternoon at Shenzhen Con-cert Hall as 2018’s fi rst free “Beautiful Sunday” concert brought the audiences on a 90-minute journey of pipe organ music.
This also marked the return of pipe organ concerts at the venue after a one-year hiatus as the grand instrument required maintenance.
“The humid climate makes it very chal-lenging to keep the pipe organ in good condition,” explained Wu Qiyao, a senior representative of the Austria-based pipe organ manufacturer Rieger. A high-end manufacturer with a 173-year-old his-tory, Rieger has built 10 pipe organs in China, including two in Hong Kong.
The instrument at Shenzhen Concert Hall, consisting of 6,432 pipes and
weighing 35 tons, took two years to manufacture, install and tune when its construction fi rst commenced 11 years ago.
Sunday’s concert, performed by teach-ers and students from Shanghai Con-servatory of Music (SCM), introduced a classical repertoire of pipe organ music spanning a lengthy period from Bach to
Olivier Messiaen. The program also took in “Through the Western Pass,” a short piece based on a Chinese folk song.
“Although it’s fairly new to the Chi-nese audience, the pipe organ, installed in churches, synagogues, concert halls, schools and other buildings, boasts a sub-stantial repertoire which spans over 500 years,” said Wu Dan, a lecturer at SCM.
The seven-member team started a tour of 10 Chinese cities in June last year to promote pipe organ music to the public, with one stop in Shenzhen.
SCM became the fi rst Chinese conser-vatory to have a major in pipe organ in 2016, and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing is just about to take in its fi rst pipe organ students this year.
Apart from concert halls and churches, pipe organs were also installed in the-aters to accompany silent movies in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
To draw audiences to this unfamil-iar instrument, French organist and composer Thierry Escaich revived the tradition by giving an improvised per-formance to accompany “The Goddess,” a silent movie starring Ruan Lingyu, in Shanghai on March 1.
“This fi eld has been vacant in China until recent years, but we’re catching up,” Wu said.
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Tuesday March 13, 2018
2018 Shenzhen ‘Belt and Road’ International Music Festival Opening Concert
‘Beautiful Sunday’ returns with pipe organ
Wu Dan (R) and cellist Chen Junyu. Courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall
WITH spring’s arrival, all things undergo a revival, including music.
Here comes the 2018 Belt & Road Shenzhen International Music Festival with a grand opening concert kicking off March 23.
From the fi rst glimpse at the pro-gram for this year’s music festival just released, music groupies can rest assured that the opening concert this March will bring a smattering of dif-ferent tastes and a refreshing musical experience to the local scene.
The opening concert will feature a variety of musical pieces that are sure to have something for everybody. One of the pieces will be the theme song of movie “Schindler’s List” composed by John Williams and “Zigeunerweisen” composed by Pablo de Sarasate.
These well-known pieces will be performed solo by Lin Chao-liang, a violinist born in Taiwan with albums winning Gramophone Record of the Year, Grammy nominations and Pen-guin Guide Rosettes.
Lin is one of the most-anticipated artists at the opening concert. At the age of 12, he moved to Sydney to fur-ther his studies with Robert Pikler, a student of Jenö Hubay. After playing for Itzhak Perlman in a master class, the 13-year-old boy began study under Perlman’s teacher, Dorothy DeLay.
By the age of 15, Lin traveled alone to New York and auditioned for Juilliard. He spent the next six years working with DeLay.
Lin’s concert career took off in 1980 when he debut playing the “Mendels-sohn Concerto” with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. He has since performed as a soloist with virtually every major orchestra in the world.
Classical orchestra like “Bolero,” originally composed by Maurice Ravel and arranged by Jiang Ying, is another highlight of the March 23 concert. Ticket holders can look forward to a very well-performed piece conducted by Zhang Guoyong and performed by the 2018 Shenzhen Belt and Road International Music Festival Orchestra.
Apart from classical European music and Chinese traditional elements, the
B&R mUSIC FESTIVAL
OpenS with European classics,
Latino romance & Chinese tradition
opening concert will also include a number performed by Walter Rios, a Argentine National Bandoneon accordionist, soloing two of Astor Piazzolla’s Tango masterpieces “Lib-ertango” and “Adiós Nonino.”
The bandoneon was originally intended as an instrument for reli-gious and popular music, in contrast to its predecessor, the German con-certina, which was predominantly used in folk music. Around 1870, German and Italian emigrants and sailors brought the instrument to Argentina, where it was adapted for the nascent genre of tango music, a descendant of the earlier milonga.
Considered a heavyweight instru-ment, the trumpet is rarely seen played by females. But famous French female trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary is among the exceptions.
She will bring Shenzhen audience members refreshing musical pieces “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen, “Summertime” by George Gershwin and “My Favorite Things” by Richard Rodgers to the opening concert.
As for Chinese pieces, the orchestral piece composed by Guan Xia “Festival Overture” will debut at the opening concert. Renowned Chinese soprano Lei Jia and baritone Wang Yunpeng will perform traditional Chinese folk songs and classical Western opera pieces. Wang is a local singer from Shenzhen. As a part of the generation born in the 1980s, Wang is assuming i n c r e a s i n g l y important roles in multiple operas across global stages.
(Story translated by Zhang Qian)
Time: 7:30 p.m., March 23Tickets: 180, 280, 380, 580, 680, 880 yuanVenue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路和益田路交汇处深圳音乐厅)Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D
Violin: Lin Chao-liangBandoneon accordion: Walter Rios (Argentina)Trumpet: Luciene Renaudin Vary (France)Conductors: Zhang Guoyong, Lin DayeOrchestra: 2018 Shenzhen “Belt and Road” International Music Festival Orchestra, Xinji-ang Muqam Performing Arts Troupe, National Orchestra
Accordionist Walter Rios.Accordionist Walter Rios.
Trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary.
Baritone Wang Yunpeng. Baritone Wang Yunpeng.
Violinist Lin Chao-liang.