澳大利亚对阿联酋:澳大利亚全国性权势巨子文化音乐刊物Limelight对中邦交响乐团2023澳大利亚巡演首演赐与高度好评

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澳大利亚全国性权势巨子文化音乐刊物Limelight对中邦交响乐团2023澳大利亚巡演首演赐与高度好评，做者Dr Nicholas Ng对乐团带来的音乐盛宴深深称赞，通过深切分析表演，从批示家的细腻挥棒，到乐团成员们的崇高高贵身手，再到曲目选择的巧妙编排，对中邦交响乐团为澳大利亚不雅寡带来的音乐盛宴所做的精心筹办和卓越表演赐与了极高必定澳大利亚对阿联酋。

With an earnest flick of his fingers, conductor Li Xincao brought the concert to a poignant end, sustained by a raw open-string harmonic. The lengthy applause was rapturous – a cathartic release from the contained excitement that permeated through the Opera House waiting areas moments before the concert began.

This excitement was highly justified as the event heralded the first visit of a major Chinese orchestra to Australia since the great lockdown. It also coincided with the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House. Such a high profile and aptly programmed occasion demands careful deliberation and consideration in all aspects of the production, and this concert, hosted by Ausfeng, excelled in every area, from the choice of repertoire, to the calibre of performance to overall presentation.

Those in attendance at the Opera House on Tuesday night experienced a sonic treat of timeless classics from China’s modern era:Yaozu Wuqu (Dance of the Yao People),Liangzhu xiaotiqin xiezouqu (Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto) andTambourin Chinois,Op. 3(Chinese Tambourine) programmed with Beethoven’s formidable Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92.

These are household favourites cleverly chosen to draw on the sonic memories and heart strings of the many Chinese and non-Chinese members who filled the seats of the concert hall to capacity.

China National Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House, 28 November 2023. Photo © Nicholas Ng

Dance of Yao Peopleis inspired by an ethnic minority folk tune. In the 20th century, minority tunes became a source of musical interest within the dominant Han musical culture.

Composed in the 1950s, it is not entirely clear which Yao dance (many exist for various societal functions) fuelled Liu Tieshan’s motivic and rhythmic material, but this piece has become a favourite within the Chinese classical music canon and it was brilliantly performed by the orchestra.

The first and second melodic subjects, often heard on Chinese instruments, were romantically delivered by concert master Yao Liang and the string section amidst a collage of instrumental timbres showcasing the technical prowess of arranger Mao Yuan.

It is hard to articulate the kaleidoscopic myriad of colours in the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, with the filigree harp and piano cascades, arousing hexatonic (BDEF#GA) melodies and vivid orchestration. Surely, this work could be considered the modern Chinese equivalent to Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35.

Even to the unfamiliar ear, the Butterfly Lovers’ is an epic saga of sound replete with warlike percussion and heroic brass passages, dulcet wind moments and an evocative violin line that seems to channel the very soul of Chinese opera protagonist Zhu Yingtai from a distant time in the past.

China National Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House, 28 November 2023. Photo © Tom Jiang

Acclaimed soloist Lü Siqing was mesmerising in his delivery, with the emotions of He Zhanhao and Chen Gang’s magnum opus swelling from his bow – in interesting contrast to his otherwise subdued and unassuming demeanour.

To our delight, Lü Siqing returned to the stage with a highly polished rendition of the spritely Chinese Tambourineby Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962). Originally for violin and piano, the delivery of this beautifully orchestrated arrangement led by Li’s lively and dynamic gestures demonstrated what must have been many hours of dedicated rehearsal.

But how to conclude a concert after such an emotionally charged opening? The unequivocal answer is not with another 20th century Chinese work, but with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.

One might ask how Beethoven’s music relates to China. Those familiar with modern history would understand that there is nothing closer to the contemporary Chinese zeitgeist than this Germanic symbol of ‘liberty, equality, and fraternity’, who worked against all odds to accomplish artistic mastery in music.

The orchestra, again under the enigmatic baton of Maestro Li, took the audience on a roller coaster ride of heightened emotions through the dazzling technical precision of their ensemble work. Almost serendipitously, the concert comes to a close with the element of dance in a particularly frenetic fourth movement coined by Wagner himself as “the ultimate dance music”.

Li Xincao and the China National Symphony Orchestra. Photo @ Tom Jiang

Beautiful Eveningwas the final encore piece. If this concert is to fit within the often quoted ‘east-meets-west’ paradigm, nothing could be more fitting than this homage to Liu Tianhua (1895-1932), the western composition theorist, violinist, pianist, pipa and erhu player who established the Guoyue Gaijinshe (Society for the Improvement of National Music) in 1927.

Liu’s work led to the present-day Chinese orchestra and spearheaded successive styles of syncretic composition for the western orchestral medium in China. Based on the original 1928 erhu study, the arrangement was tastefully delivered by the string section with the main erhu melody in the violins accompanied by a pizzicato and bowed counterpoint in the lower strings.

This musical offering by China’s premier orchestra in Australia’s most prestigious performance venue is certainly very timely as we emerge from a period of uneasy geopolitical tension between our two nations. I look forward to witnessing more important exchanges like this as we venture into 2024.

The China National Symphony Orchestra performs at Adelaide Town Hall, 1 December and Hamer Hall, Melbourne, 2 December.