The River of Spring

Closing Ceremony of the 2019 Beijing Modern Music Festival

Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China

Chinese Symphony in Retrospect

The River of Spring

—— Closing Ceremony of the 2019 Beijing Modern Music Festival

Saturday, May 25, 2019, at 19:30

Opera and Concert Hall of the Central Conservatory of Music

^{Symphony Orchestra of the Central Conservatory of Music}

^{CHEN Lin, Conductor}

^{ZHOU Xiaolin, Soprano}

^{ZHOU Zhengzhong, Baritone}

^{ZHENG Yang, Sheng}

^{YUAN Feifan, Bamboo flute}

^{XUE Bingqian, Pipa}

^{ZHOU Yini, Erhu}

^{LI Yuhe, Violin}

 1.    HAO Weiya

The River of Spring (selected from the 2nd scene of the Act I of the opera) (2014)  15’

2.    YAO Chen

Two Poems for orchestra (2005)   08’

3.    QIN Wenchen

The Clouds River, Concerto for sheng and orchestra (2017)  19’

------Intermission------

4.    CHANG Ping

Blue Lotus for bamboo flute and orchestra (2014) 15’

5.    ZOU Hang

The Color of Ningbo for pipa erhu and orchestra (2017/19) 11’

6.    CHEN Yi

Chinese Rap for violin and orchestra (2013) 10’

Affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM)

Affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), the Symphony Orchestra of CCOM is an internationalized professional orchestra. It is composed of outstanding professional performers from both home and abroad. As a national organization of creating and performing the art of music, the symphony orchestra undertakes the important tasks of talent cultivation, music composition and performance, international communication, and participation in music festivals and competitions, with the aim to build first-class university and respond to the State’s call of strategically improving the level of art and cultivating top-level music talents.

Professor Yu Feng, a renowned conductor in China and president of CCOM, has been serving as the director of the Symphony Orchestra of CCOM ever since its establishment in December 2016.

As an internationalized professional symphony orchestra, it never forget that it supported and cultivated by the Communist Party of China and the State. Firmly upholding the Chinese culture, basing itself on the present situ-ation of China, and in light of the characteristics of the times, the music it plays is geared to modernization, the world, and the future. At the opening ceremony concert of the Inaugural Conference of Music Education Alliance Across the “Silk Road”，which was held at CCOM in

May 2017, the orchestra performed Scheherazade under the baton of Yu Feng for the audiences from various countries. In December 2017, at the Silk Road Melodies of Harmony: A Theme Concert, the orchestra performed Scheherazade again at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. On December 29, 2017, the live recording of Scheherazade performed by the Symphony Orchestra of CCOM under the baton of Yu Feng was presented the award of best performance in the category of instrumental music in the 10th China Gold Record Award. In October 2018, the live-action opera "Turandot", sponsored by the National Arts Fund, was successfully held in our royal palace. We received high praise from the guests at home and abroad, and demonstrated the fresh charm as an internationalized symphony orchestra and the guiding role we play in performing symphonic works in China.

HAO Weiya

Born in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 1971, Mr. Hao studied with renowned Chinese composition Professor Zuqiang Wu and obtained his doctoral degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1999. Currently Mr. Hao is a professor at the Composition Department of the Central conservatory of Music. Visiting scholar at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy（2006-07）and Columbia University in New York, U.S.）2014-15）

The River of Spring (selected from the 2nd scene of the Act I of the opera) (2014)

^{This opera was premiered at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Shanghai International Arts Festival. Conductor Tang Muhai collaborated with Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chorus of Shanghai Opera House to give the performance, with Yi Liming as the director.}

^{Four acts:}

^{Departure from Shanghai}

^{Retreat from Wuhan}

^{Broken Dreams in Chongqing}

^{The River of Spring}

^{In Shanghai, progressive teacher Zhang Zhongliang is going to the battlefield with an anti-Japanese rescue team and bids farewell to his wife and children…}

^{Scriptwriters: Luo Huaizhen, Yu Jiang, Luo Zhou}

^{Zhang Zhongliang by Zhou Zhengzhong}

^{Yu Sufen by Zhou Xiaolin}

^{Duration: 15 minutes}

YAO Chen

^{YAO Chen iscurrently associate professor of Composition at Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.He graduated from Central Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor degree and received his Ph.D. in Composition from the University of Chicago.In the past, hehas hold lectureship at the University of Chicago; professorships at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music,theIllinois State University School of Music, and the Soochow University School of Music in China. His music, always ritual in nature, eschews contemporary vogues and instead aims at a timelessness and an otherness that exists beyond the standard categories – music for the moment, but also music for then and music for what lies ahead. He has received commissions and awards from many international organizations including Radio France, Harvard University Fromm Foundation, Leonard Bernstein Foundation, and Mellon Foundation. Performed by internationally famed musicians and ensembles, his music has been wonderfully received at renowned music festivals such as ISCM World Music Days, Centre Acanthes, Festival Présences, Tanglewood Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival among others.}   

Two Poems for orchestra (2005)   

The autumn of 2005 in Chicago Hyde Park is special in my memory. In response to those autumnal sounds and colors, I composed these two orchestral tone poems.        

The first poem, Sough, depicting the rustling sounds of the leaves in the wind, is presented by the prominent use of strings in the piece. The strings symbolize nature, and a sparse number of wind and percussion instruments symbolize the human inhabitants.

The second poem, Glowing Autumn, explores the full palette of a chamber orchestra. The orchestral colors and the dramatic gestures present us another way of perceiving the autumnal landscape: the boundary between the humans and the nature melted away, they have gradually become one soul.

WenchenQin

^{WenchenQin  is a composer and teacher in Beijing, where he is a professor of composition at the Central Conservatory of Music, and a distinguished professor at the China Conservatory of Music.}

^{Qin is one of China’s most influential composers, and has written commissions for many international music organizations, including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Beethovenfest Bonn, Warsaw Autumn, BayerischerRundfunk, and Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. His works have been widely performed by more than seventy well-known musical groups in China and further afield, including Ensemble Intercontemporain and L’Itinéraire in France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and ensemble recherche in Germany, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble EuropeoAntidogma in Italy, Tokyo City Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Nieuw Ensemble Holland, Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea (CMEK), and Sinfonia Varsovia in Poland. His music has been broadcast on major radio stations in Germany, France and Switzerland, including North German Radio (NDR), West German Radio (WDR), Radio France, Swiss Radio, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) and ORF-Radio.}

“The CLOUD RIVER”  concerto for Sheng and Orchestra （2017）

Clouds are in a perpetual condition of infinite changes in the boundless sky and the rays of light shower on earth in great exuberance and in all directions, conveying immense energy to all forms of life on earth. “The Cloud River” articulates the composer’s infinite imaginative thoughts and emotions about clouds. 

“The Cloud River”, composed for Sheng and the Orchestra, has help considerably expand the technique of playing the instrument. Those latest improvements in playing the Sheng instrument have resulted in the creation of new forms of timbre and, in combination with the orchestra, have succeeded in producing interestingly new sound effects.

Chang Ping

Dr. Chang Ping, professor at the Composition Department of Central Conservatory of Music, Composer, supervised by Professor Tang Jianping.

One of Chang’s focuses is to incorporate ethnic musical instruments in symphonic music, in order to find new possibilities for the latter. His concerto suite Oriental Wash Painting, the composition process of which took ten years, published by NAXOS, was written for the four most typical Chinese traditional instruments - erhu, Chinese lute, zither and bamboo flute. His newest project, taking place from 2003 to 2018, is his symphonic suite Genesis for large orchestra., The four movements of Genesis illustrate his understanding of the world with respect to the Holy Bible, science, the nature, and humanity, respectively. The first movement, Singularity received its premiere at Carnegie Hall in October 2018. 

In 2006, Chang’s Concerto for Orchestra became the winner of the Culture Award, the top award for creative arts in China. In 2015, for the 70^th Anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist War, Chang’s three-act opera Taihang, Mother was commissioned by Central Opera House, and premiered at Beijing Century Theatre. A grand five-act dance drama The Ode to Han obtain project funding of China National Arts Fund. In 2015, Chang’s symphonic works were programed and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture at National Performance Art Centre and performed by China National Symphony Orchestra.

^{Meanwhile, Chang Ping also got the sponsorship for his academic excellence from Central Conservatory of Music to publish his book Analysis on Selected Orchestral Works in 20th Century. At the same time, he was financially supported by the New Century Excellent Talents Supporting Program of Ministry of Education, and the}

The Clouds River, Concerto for sheng and orchestra (2017)  

Blue Lotus reminds me of the ancient times. For thousands of hundreds of years, it has been regarded as the symbol of life. In ancient legends, people believed that it had the power of rejuvenation and regeneration; and because of its purity, people also cast romance and mystery into it. It was given the most beautiful meaning — eternal hope. It is an existence with spirit, standing gracefully above the water, never polluted by the mire down there. It carries people’s dream and pursuit for eternity and purity. Bamboo flute is one of the most ancient Chinese instruments, which has a history of thousands of years, so it is a prefect instrument to interpret the spirit of blue lotus.

ZOU Hang

ZOU Hang is an associate professor of composition at CCOM. In 1993, he was admitted to the Composition Department at  CCOM and studied under professor YE Xiaogang. In 2001, he received his master degree.

ZOU’s works obtained many honor for him, including the International Gaudeamus Prize, the Best Composer Award in the 5^th “Chinese Dance Lotus Award, the 10^th and 12^th Anniversary of the “the Five one project Award” of the Central Propaganda Department, the 1^st Chinese music “Golden Bell Award”, the first prize in the 1^st Guangdong Province Arts Festival, the Excellent Work Award in the 6^th Taiwan Province Symphony Orchestra Competition.

His works was played by Yoyo Ma, Lang Lang and other world-class masters, and was performed on the stage in nearly 30 countries, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Oceania. Some of his works have been collected by Wergo Record Company of Germany, NM Extra Record Company of Netherlands, and many other record companies worldwide.

The Color of Ningbo for pipa erhu and orchestra (2017/19) 

The Color of Ningbo is the second of Zou Hang’s regional color series after The Color of Beijing.

Created in 2017, it was premiered at the opening ceremony of the Asia Arts Festival by conductor Yu Feng and Ningbo Symphony Orchestra. After revision in 2019, it was officially named The Color of Ningbo. 

The composition consists of Ancient Call, All Rivers Run into Sea and Full of Guests. With regional music elements of fishermen’s songs, Shaoxing opera and folk songs, it tries to show the history of the city along the maritime Silk Road and its present status as the world’s third port.

CHEN Yi

^{Born in Guangzhou in 1953, Dr. Chen Yi received her degrees from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Columbia University in New York, composition teachers are Profs. Wu Zuqiang, Chou Wen-chung, and Mario Davidovsky.  She is Distinguished Endowed Professor at UMKC Conservatory since 1998. She was Residence Composer of The Women’s Philharmonic, Chanticleer, and Aptos Creative Arts Center, and taught at Peabody Conservatory.}

^{Chen Yi was a recipient of Ives Living Award from AAAL in 2001. She blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. She has composed over 150 works which have been recorded in over 120 commercially released CDs.}

^{Prof. Chen was Cheungkong Scholar Visiting Professor at CCoM and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tianjin Conservatory, and awarded 5 Honorary Doctorates in America. As a strong advocate for new music and composers, she has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2019.}

Chinese Rap for violin and orchestra (2013) 

Commissioned by Kennesaw State University Symphony Orchestra in 2012, Chinese Rap for violin and orchestra is premiered by Prof. Helen Kim as the soloist and the KSUSO led by Prof. Michael Alexander at Bailey Center in KSU, GA on Feb. 17, 2014. The work is inspired by Chinese folk musical story telling, Quyi, in a form of mixed reciting and singing style, with interludes played by percussion and plucking instruments in accompaniment. The folk musical story telling is sung in dialects from different geographic regions. I mixed all these elements in a complex three-part form, with an introduction, a cadenza in the middle, and a coda as the frame in the structure. The melodies are delicate and leisurely, and the rhythmic parts are energetic, vivid and lively. There are big contrasts between sections, which are juxtaposed and connected smoothly and congenially.

CHEN Lin

Conductor CHEN Lin is currently teaching at the Conducting Department of Central Conservatory of Music. CHEN Lin is not only active on various important stages across the country, but has also cooperated with many international music groups. She was claimed as "a hard-won excellent musician” by the long-standing Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.

In 1996, CHEN Lin was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Professor YU Feng. In 2000, under the recommendation of maestro Seiji Ozawa, she studied at the Tanglewood Music Festival and won the Bernstein Scholarship. From 1999 to 2003, she entered the finals of the Besancon International Competition for Young Conductors three times.

In 2003, CHEN Lin served as assistant conductor of Seiji Ozawa Music Academy and took part in numerous opera rehearsals. She also acted as the conductor of the Music Academy in China Tour in 2005, gaining great success. In 2006, she was invited to Japan's famous Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto as a guest conductor.

Actor profile

Yang Zheng

Yang is a Sheng musician in Beijing Chinese Orchestra. She achieved postgraduate degree in CCOM under professor Shoucheng Yang. She recorded and performed more than 70 new works and was invited to popularize Sheng in many different countries and regions among Asia, Europe and north America. Yang performed in "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music, Festival Junger Kunstler Bayreuth, and Sweden "Gotlands Music Festival" World Folk Music Festival.

She held “Pilgrim - Zheng Yang’s Sheng Modern Works Concert” and published an album with the same title. It was the first Sheng modern album in China and was recorded into ‘The series of young musicians of Central Conservatory of Music’ by Beijing Global Audio-visual Publishing House.

Xiaolin ZHOU 

Since graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 2006, Xiaolin ZHOU has positioned herself as one of the rising young singers in China. In 2007, she covered the role of Moon and singing minor ones in the world premiere of Poet Li Bai. She made her debut with Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts in 2009 as the title role in the commission opera, The Village Teacher. Followed several engagements with NCPA including: Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, La Traviata; Il Trovatore; La Bohème. Xiaolin ZHOU appears in Aida under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and in Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Myung-whun Chung.

Xiaolin ZHOU won the first prize in the “Music Golden Bell Award”, the most prestigious competition in China. She also won Silver Medal in the China CCTV Young Artist Competition. In 2005, she received the top prize of the Neue Stimmen International Competition in Germany.

Zhou Zhengzhong

Zhou Zhengzhong is a professional opera singer and a lecturer at Wuhan Conservatory of Music. He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of professor Zhang Renqing. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the First Prize of opera category and Second Prize of French art songs category at the International Opera Singing Competition of Marmande, the Third Prize at the International Singing Competition of Toulouse. He also awarded the scholarship from the Centre national d’insertion professionnelle d’artistes lyriques to undergo a 2-year internship at Marseilles. Thereafter, he was admitted to the Royal Opera House under the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme before he joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin as an an ensemble member.

Zhou Zhengzhong is highly active on the international opera stage. In renowned classic music critic Hugh Canning’s commentary on Zhou Zhengzhong’s performance in Faustus, he characterised Zhou as the undisputed best interpreter of the character Valentine.

Yuan Feifan 

Yuan Feifan is currently an associate professor at the Central Conservatory of Music. He graduated from CCOM with a bachelor’s degree in 1998, and then worked for China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater as a bamboo flute soloist. In 2001, he started to work for CCOM. Yuan has studied with Professor Xiang Siyi, Zhang Hongyang, Dai Ya, Zeng Yongqing, and Wang Ciheng.

Yuan won the first prize in the 6^th Taiwan Traditional Instrument Concerto Competition (Bamboo Flute) in 1998. He presented his recital Bamboo Flute Extraordinary in 2011, and then Bamboo Flute Brilliant, a bamboo flute concerto concert in 2012. In 2016, his solo concert, "The Unconventional - Yuan Feifan's Bamboo Flute World" was held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. He has worked with China National Symphony Orchestra, China National Traditional Orchestra, The Macao Chinese Orchestra, South Korea Seongnam National Orchestra, China National Opera & Dance Drama Symphony Orchestra, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, Amber Quartet, and so on.