Peng Jiapeng, artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra.
On April 19, Suzhou Chinese Orchestra will appear in Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall under the direction of Peng Jiapeng, artistic director and chief conductor, and present a concert of original works of "Elegant Symphony" to the audience in Shencheng. Although they all belong to the Yangtze River Delta Literature and Art Alliance, the high-speed train ride between Suzhou and Shanghai has been shortened to 40 minutes. However, for this appearance, the orchestra still spent two whole months carefully selecting tracks.
The first half of the performance can be described as a "contract" special. The three tracks of misty rain and maple bridge, the voice from Suzhou and the symphony of silk and bamboo are all original signed works, all of which show Suzhou's classical and elegant humanistic feelings. Misty Rain on Fengqiao was written by composer Li Binyang, and its name was taken from Du Mu's poem Dusk Crossing Fengqiao to Scatter Rain. Guided by the faint Suzhou Pingtan and the lingering charm of Kunqu elements, through the ethereal and dreamy music course, the author depicts the Millennium Maple Bridge in his mind.
The Voice from Suzhou shows Suzhou in the eyes of composer Hao Wei, which not only keeps the charm of ancient style but also takes into account the development of the times. The work is divided into three movements, which are based on Suzhou's "gardens", "landscapes" and "Kunqu Opera". It is considered to re-feel and examine Suzhou's unique atmosphere from the perspective of contemporary people and show Suzhou's development achievements after 40 years of reform and opening up.
Liu Changyuan's Symphony of Silk and Bamboo is based on the Jiangsu folk song Good Scenery in Suzhou, which is divided into two movements. It makes people seem to hear the boat songs of Taihu Lake, the bells of Hanshan Temple, the pingtan in the courtyard and the waves of Jiangnan water town, expressing the author's praise for Jiangnan water town and Suzhou people's feelings of loving their hometown.
Erhu player Zhu Changyao
The second half of the concert is the highlight-composer Zhao Jiping's Elegant Symphony. This orchestral work from The Book of Songs can make people hear the yearning for "My Fair Lady, Good Gentleman" in Guanluo, and also hear the epic legend of heroic boundless temperament in Youcaolan. This is a large-scale national orchestral work that Zhao Jiping selected some representative chapters from China's poetry anthology "The Book of Songs" and "Tang Poetry", and it took nearly one year to complete.
It is not difficult to find that Suzhou National Orchestra adheres to the characteristics of Jiangnan folk music in content and melody, and shows a distinctive China logo. Peng Jiapeng, artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra, said that up to now, almost every work contracted by the orchestra has been closely focused on "China elements" and "Jiangnan culture". Whether it is a classical garden or an ancient village, or it has become a new fashion Pingtan or Kunqu Opera, the treasure house of China traditional culture supports the development of Chinese folk music, and also shows its broadness and beauty to the world through the road of symphonic music.
National orchestral works are difficult to write, and there are not as many as western symphony models. But through many exchanges and attempts, the composer and the orchestra gradually have a tacit understanding. The key to the symphonization of national orchestral music is the innovation of ideas. The internationally accepted symphonic system is used to enrich and perfect China national music, making it standardized, diversified and international.
Of course, the road of folk music symphony is still being explored. Peng Jiapeng emphasized: "For each new work, no matter how big or simple, the orchestra will accumulate experience and collect feedback through continuous performance, and then fine-tune it in turn to promote the maturity and perfection of the music, and finally become a classic of the orchestra."