On the evening of May 12, the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra, known as the "Vienna Philharmonic among modern orchestras", performed a special concert at the Opera Concert Hall of the Central Conservatory of Music, closing the 2024 Beijing Modern Music Festival. This is the first time that all members of the orchestra have made a collective appearance on the Chinese stage. That night, under the baton of conductor Thetis Engel, Swiss composer Beate Fuller's Piano Trio "Back to You", Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang's "Chinese Poems" and Greek composer George A. Peggy's "Scene" was staged, and the audience experienced the orchestra's personalized and in-depth interpretation of modern music works by Chinese and foreign composers.
The Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra is one of the most famous contemporary music orchestras in the world, founded by the famous Swiss composer and conductor Beette Furrer. The orchestra not only has extraordinary attainments in performing traditional classical works, but also demonstrates its unique artistic pursuit and innovative spirit in exploring and presenting contemporary music works. "We are often described by the European media as the 'Vienna Philharmonic' among modern and contemporary orchestras." This time, Peter Paul Kainreis, director of the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra, led all members of the orchestra to perform in China for the first time. He said, "It's because our performance level is the same as that of the Vienna Philharmonic in the classical music world, except that we focus on modern and contemporary artists. What we play is the sound of the future, serving the present and the future."
The three players that night The first repertoire is all works by modern and contemporary composers, and the performance begins with the piano trio "Back to You" by Swiss composer Beette Furrer, who is the founder of the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra. "The founders of many modern and contemporary orchestras are either performers or conductors, and the founder of our orchestra is a composer. Why did he want to found this orchestra? He hoped that there would be an orchestra that could combine his creations with "His ideals of playing contemporary music to a wide audience," said Peter Paul Cainreath, "It is for this reason that Mr. Beate is very passionate and he works with all the players to find different ways of playing." and sound."
In another work by a foreign composer that night, "Scene", the composer broke people's conventional assumptions about concerts. The musicians could move freely on the stage, and the audience blended in as if they were attending a party. In the scene of musical dialogue, everyone becomes an immersive part of the performance. This piece is a work dedicated to the orchestra by composer George Apegis, and it is also the first time this piece has been performed in China. "The composer spent three to five years getting to know the personality of each performer in the orchestra and tailoring the performance for them, so this 60-minute piece was created for 24 musicians ” said Peter Paul Cainrith.
In the evening, the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra also presented "Chinese Poetry" by composer Ye Xiaogang. This work contains what the composer Ye Xiaogang has seen, felt, and thought in the past twenty years of his life. A detailed review of the evolution of the composer's musical expression and his re-understanding of technology and content can give a glimpse of the composer's confidence in the world. Uninhibited, hopeless pain for human nature, unknowable about the vast universe, and confused about the way out of ideas that almost never see the light of day. "This work is also a very new exploration for me. I have never written like this before. It should be said that it sounds quite avant-garde at first glance. Maybe the average Chinese audience will think that the familiar Ye Xiaogang is not like this. The performance of the work is also relatively It’s difficult, but the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra is very high-level, which is a very good thing for composers and will create different sparks,” said Ye Xiaogang.
Since the first trip of some members to Shanghai in 2015, the Vienna Modern Sound Orchestra has frequently conducted in-depth artistic exchanges with China in recent years. This time, all members of the orchestra finally made their first collective appearance on the Chinese stage. Talking about their impressions of China, Peter... Paul Cainrith said, “China is full of hope. Every time I come, I see new concert halls and many music festivals, as well as very large audiences.I am very happy to be able to bring all the members of the orchestra here for the first time and hope to have more cooperation with China in the future. "
photography/Zhang Yi
text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
editor/Qiao Ying
