Saturday, October 18, 2003 20:00
Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium
Qu Xiao Song: “Huan” Piano Concerto ▍Liu Wen Jin: Erhu Concerto “Great Wall Capriccio”
▍Zhou Long: Pipa Concerto “King Chu Doffs his Armour”
▍He Zhan Hao/Chen Gang : Violin Concerto “The Butterfly Lovers”
Piano: Liu Kwok Wai ▍Erhu: Song Fei ▍ Pipa: Zhang Hong Yan
▍Violin: Kong Zhao Hui ▍Conductor: En Shao
He Zhan Hao’s violin concerto “Butterfly Lovers” first gained international recognition over fifty years ago but it has withstood the passage of time, and today stands as a classic of Chinese concertos. Liu Wen Jin’s concerto for erhu, the “Great Wall Capriccio,” is equally well loved. These two masterpieces are successful examples of an earlier generation’s quest to give Chinese symphonic music a truly Chinese sound. Young Singaporean violinist Kong Zhao Hui’s recording of the violin concerto “Butterfly Lovers” has been hailed as the best version in existence, and erhu soloist Min Hui Fen’s interpretation of the “Great Wall Capriccio” is certain to bring pure artistic enjoyment to Macao audiences.
Qu Xiao Song may be considered as representative of a group of outstanding overseas Chinese composers now entering the prime of their musical life. They too compose music that is built upon a distinctly Chinese foundation, but that incorporates influences of Western composition techniques. Qu Xiao Song’s concerto for piano and orchestra entitled Huan, performed by the 14-year old pianist Liu Kwok Wai, each composer blends these elements – deftly, seamlessly, and sometimes unpredictably – to create compositions that have a contemporary feel and a universally human sensibility.