reporter Fang Zhuoran
On March 22, the opening ceremony and opening performance of the 39th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival "Pujiang Spring Tide·Starting a New Journey" - a theme concert celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was held in Shanghai The concert hall opens.
2024 is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. With the theme of "Praise for the New Era", this music festival will host 66 main performances to enhance the soft power of the international cultural metropolis. At the same time, this music festival is the first large-scale cultural festival in Shanghai this year.
This year's "Shanghai Spring" stage brings together for the first time the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Opera House Chorus, Shanghai Conservatory of Music Music Education Department Mixed Choir, and China Welfare Society Children's Palace Friends Art Troupe to participate in the opening performance, with famous conductors Yu Feng serves as the conductor.
The repertoire at the opening ceremony includes "Ode to the Red Flag" for piano and orchestra, "Sunshine Shines on Taxkorgan" for violin and orchestra, "Bright Red Sun" for orchestra, "Sixth Erhu Rhapsody" for erhu and orchestra, and the symphony "New "Era", composed by composers Lu Qiming, Chen Gang, Zhou Xianglin, Wang Jianmin, and Gong Tianpeng respectively. While promoting the theme of the times and displaying Shanghai originals, the opening ceremony's repertoire echoed classics and new works, and also reflected the inheritance and innovation of art.
It is worth noting that the opening performance of this music festival has set a new record for the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival in terms of performance scale: a total of more than 350 band and choir members performed the symphony of the new era in the form of a symphonic chorus performance. This is also the Shanghai Symphony Music Festival. The largest symphony concert ever held in the hall.
"It is a big challenge to integrate five art troupes to carry out complex secondary creation and polishing." Yu Feng said, after all, everyone is a professional. Although the lineup is huge and the number of people is large, it serves the richness of the music. They vocalize in an orderly manner, producing contagious sound effects through different levels of changes such as instrumental performance, piano solo, children's chorus, and mixed chorus. It can not only achieve soft pianissimo, but also achieve magnificent climax, bringing strong shock and infection to the audience.
At the opening concert of the 6th "Shanghai Spring" in 1965, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Film Orchestra jointly played Mr. Lu Qiming's "Ode to the Red Flag". At the opening ceremony, the famous pianist Kong Xiangdong and the orchestra performed the piano and band version of "Ode to the Red Flag" on the "Shanghai Spring" stage. Through a new interpretation of the red classic, it showed the charm of the classic and reflected the "blooming flowers" of the times.
""Ode to the Red Flag" has so far had eight extended versions, and has been revised and finalized several times in the past 60 years. The piano and orchestra version of "Ode to the Red Flag" is another form of orchestral performance of "Ode to the Red Flag", with the piano leading the important music. section to broaden and enrich the expressive power of "Ode to the Red Flag."" 94-year-old Lu Qiming said with emotion, "This year is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. This 'Shanghai Spring' can once again perform "Ode to the Red Flag" with music. It is of great value and significance to express your love for 'Red Flag' and sing the praises of the great motherland's rising prosperity."
conductor Yu Feng was interviewed. Photography: Fang Zhuoran
Yu Feng believes that "Shanghai Spring" has been held for the 39th time this year, and there is no such a big brand in China that can last for such a long time. It is precisely because of this continuous effort and persistence in promoting new talents and new works that many outstanding works and talents have emerged in the "Shanghai Spring".
He said that a number of outstanding works, including "Ode to the Red Flag" and "Butterfly Butterfly Lovers", have spread from the "Shanghai Spring" to the whole country and even the world, becoming classics of New China's musical works. This is a very significant historical value and contribution to the "Shanghai Spring".
In addition, "Shanghai Spring" has established the program purpose of "promoting new talents" since its inception. This opening performance selected three new talents in the music scene in Shanghai who have won the China Music Golden Bell Award and other music awards - —Zhu Jing, Wang Ruiyi, and Wang Shan performed as soloists and soloists. The three works they performed passionately were inspired by the beautiful customs of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, and reflected the mountains and seas where Shanghai and its counterpart support areas are forging ahead hand in hand. Deep love.
"Music has been a spiritual totem for people since ancient times." Yu Feng said that our country is a country of poetry and music. Entering a new era, literary and artistic creation must still be people-centered, write works that the common people love to read and see, and demonstrate the prosperity of the great unity, great unity and great development of the literary and art circles.
