A surprise? Traditionalists were certainly expecting that the inaugural concert of 14th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival would consist of Patron’s works. But none of his works was presented, and no slightest reference to Beethoven’s works was made. The conceptual axis of this year’s Festival was represented by Cello Concerto in A minor op. 129 by Robert Schumann (along with Fryderyk Chopin, the most important composer of 2010). The work was put into the context of rather exotic works. The performers and compositions alike constituted a symbolic view upon the culture and civilization that becomes more daringly important in today’s globalised world. China! In the context of economics the aspirations and position of Zhōngguó or Central Country are not surprising at all. Europe and United States of America have to seriously consider the Chinese economic power (we will not enter the discussion about the persistence and value of the foundations of their economic success). From the other hand, what is the state of Chinese culture and Chinese music in particular? Also in this area aspirations of the Chinese far surpass the imagination of the inhabitants of Old Continent. Even though the ancient civilization is only preparing to achieve global cultural dominance, we can still draw some points on the basis of their laborious and systematic forging of economic success. The effects are not difficult to predict. The musical China is – to quote the title of a famous movie – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is only a matter of time that it will grow strong and establish itself firmly enough to triumph over the world known to us. For now it learns diligently and earns experience.
The inaugural concert in Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera was Polish debut of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the oldest orchestra in Asia. The Orchestra’s history is longer than that of many of European orchestras, as Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is active for more than 130 years now (the present name was given to it as late as 1956 though). The Orchestra was conducted by maestro Long Yu, its artistic director.
The concert begun with the work entitled Erquan Spring Reflecting the Moon by Hua Yanjun, scored for string orchestra by Wu Zuqiang. By listening to this short composition one could realize how far we are from understanding Chinese sensibility and culture. The Erquan Spring... is very popular in China, describing the scenic spot, Huishan Spring in Wuxi. The composer was blind folk musician, a master of traditional instrument named erhu. We would not make a mistake, perhaps, comparing the Chinese musician with European wandering lyrist. The Erqun Spring..., according to liner notes, is known in many arrangements and settings, and the version performed tonight was composed in 1977. The composition is full of sadness and bitterness, but to recognize that an average European has to learn about it. That tells a lot about the cultural differences between our two civilisations! The performance of the work was flawless – the Orchestra played Erqua Spring... with precision.
The solo part of Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor was performed by well-established Chinese cellist, often appearing with leading orchestras worldwide, Jian Wang. It is hard to say if it was because of the specific acoustics of Teatr Wielki (quite difficult an environment in fact), but whenever Wang was playing, the orchestra was disappearing. In tutti sections, on the other hand, the volume of Orchestra’s sound was increasing greatly. If those proportions were more balanced, we would fully appreciate the interpretation of the Concerto.
We would leave the Teatr Wielki unimpressed, if not the final part of the evening. We have to admit that announced work raised both expectations and reservations. Was it possible not to hesitate when the work to be performed bore reference to the work as important as Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde? Yes, it is true; the ultimate work in programme of inaugural concert was Polish premiere of contemporary remake of Mahler’s masterpiece. This version of The Song of the Earth was commissioned by Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and composed in 2004 by Xiaogang Ye. The composer belongs to the generation that grew up to the artistic maturity after the traumatic experience of Cultural Revolution. The idea was very interesting – to deal again with the topic that already had a long tradition. Mahler was referring to the spiritual values of Chinese culture and to the aesthetics of traditional Chinese poetry translated – or, to be precise, paraphrased – to German by Hans Bethge. It is rumoured that it was difficult to find the original, 8th-century Chinese poems, differing much from Mahler’s lovers were accustomed to. The textual layer of The Song of the Earth was therefore referring to the original texts, while Xiaogang Ye’s music was referring to the spirit of Mahler’s work. The scoring of remake was similar to the original: a pair of vocal soloists, a soprano and baritone (it is reversed in Mahler’s: he scored for high male voice and low female one) backed up with the late romantic orchestra. The Chinese version made extensive use of percussion section that consisted of both European and Chinese instruments. Overall setting of Xiaogang Ye’s work was similar to that by Mahler, but in Chinese version the proportions were more balanced (the core of Mahler’s work is a large sixth movement – Abschied). The World of sounds of Xiaogang Ye appeared to be rich and eclectic one, spread between impressionism and sonorism. And, fortunately, the allusions to the tonal music were very rare; we consider this to be an advantage of this work. The soloists, soprano Xu Xiao Ying and baritone Xiaoyong Yang (who had a considerably smaller part) both gave convincing performance and the Orchestra was able to show its high artistic level, so hidden in Schumann’s Cello Concerto.
The second part of the evening was truly inspiring, as it showed the ambitions of Chinese musical culture. Who knows, what world’s classical music would be in 100 years. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? It is for now, but what if the Tiger stops to crouch and the Dragon would not hide anymore? Something very interesting may come out of this. All we need to do is to learn Chinese culture and Chinese sensibility.

Marcin Majchrowski (Polskie Radio)