HZAU’s New Year Concert came to the students and faculties in time at the end of 2023. Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, with its musical director and principal conductor Fu Renchang’s conducting, presented a wonderful symphony that rang out the old year and rang in the new year. Party Secretary of HZAU Gao Chi and Deputy Secretary Wang Congyan attended the concert.
Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra plays symphony. [photo/Si Xinran]
Before the concert, Gao Chi looked back on the deep friendship between HZAU and the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra and extended expectations for a long-lasting friendship together with Zhang Shouzhong, President of the Orchestra.
Gao Chi and Zhang Shouzhong shake hands and interact with the audience.[photo/Si Xinran]
The concert commenced with the symphony “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains (selections)”. Inspired by the painting “Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” drawn by Wang Ximeng in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Lin, a brilliant composer commissioned by 23 orchestras in China, composed this symphonic tone poem to express the heartfelt excitement about the splendid landscape of the motherland. The audience can feel the great ambitions of the young and the magnificent scenery in the painting when appreciating the music.
Fu Renchang conducts the violinists. [photo/ Si Xinran]
Under Fu Renchang’s conducting, the musicians provided the audience with beautiful melodies, as if rolling out a panoramic landscape painting of China: clouds rising into the boundless sky, mild breeze, green mountains and the forests, which enchanted all attendees.
The orchestra showed ethnic cultures as well. China boasts 56 ethnic groups and each of them has a unique culture. Four folk songs with distinctive ethnic features were played in this concert.
The Chief Violinist Li Jia (in the middle) [photo/ Xu Xing]
The lively and rousing symphony of the Tibetan nationality, Song Ze Ya La, borrows its tune from the music of the Tibetan dance “Dui Xie (a kind of tap dance)”, expressing the joyful festivities of Tibetans. Along with the sonorous melody of Senji Dema, the audience seemed to walk in the steppe dotted with Mongolian yurt and feel the hospitality and forthrightness of the Mongolian people.
This resounding and bright music was followed by a fluent and lyrical symphony of the Kazak nationality, Gawa Litai, which calmed the surging emotions of the attendees with the melodious tune. Then the well-known song Raising Your Bridal Veil led the audience to exultancy again. The light-hearted and rhythmic percussion represented the enthusiasm, straightforwardness, and optimism of the Uygur people.
The orchestra also performed the recomposed version of From Afar, which features both the tune of Kazakh folk songs and the style of Tibetan folk songs in Qinghai Province, fascinating the listeners with its moving melody. Subsequently, the orchestra ended this journey of ethnic culture with Tapangu Hosa Mayasvi.
The audience are appreciating the symphonies. [photo/Si Xinran]
Apart from well-known Chinese symphonies, classic foreign melodies had their place in the New Year Concert as well.
The selections from the Russian ballet “Swan Lake”, including “Scene”, “Dance of the Little Swans”, and “Spanish Dance”, showed the audience the exquisite and elegant beauty in Tchaikovsky’s mind.
Before performing the “Troika”, the conductor invited several audiences to the stage to play color instruments and performed together with the orchestra members, winning rapturous applause from the audience below. While playing the “Unter Donner und Blitz, Polka schnell”, the audience joined the performance by mimicking the sound of thunder and lightning, playing a symphony of strong winds, thunderstorms, and lightning in nature vividly.
Audience join the performance. [photo/ Si Xinran]
The last part of this concert was Spanish symphonies. Bolero was an orchestral composition with a fixed rhythm played by the snare drum throughout the entire piece. Then various instruments took turns performing the melodies of two themes and a grand climax played by the entire orchestra together came in the end.
Chinese folk music and foreign classic compositions “met with each other across thousands of miles” in this concert, showcasing the harmonious co-existence and mutual appreciation of Chinese and foreign music.
Saxophonist performs at the concert. [photo/Si Xinran]
The performance drew applause and plaudits from the audience and the orchestra played “Bugler’s Holiday” and “Happy Birthday” variations as the encore.
All musicians extend their gratitude to the audience. [photo/ Xie Jiaze]
After the concert, Gao Chi presented Fu Renchang with a letter of appointment as an adjunct professor, and the audience responded with warm applause and cheers.
Gao Chi presented Fu Renchang with a letter of appointment. [photo/ Peng Guangmang]
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/1225/68780.shtml
Translated by: Zhu Mengjiao
Proofread by: Dong Wenli
Supervised by: Wang Xiaoyan
