The Mini Festival Established Together by Shanghai Concert Hall and British South Bank Art Center

　　

Ralley Mcdonald(The man stand in the picture )　command the Aurora Orchestra of British to perform the works of 20th century classic music in Shanghai concert hall , starting the Mini festival

In 2013, by“The Rest Is Noise”art festival which is up to one year, South bank art center of British deeply search for the 20th century music. However, the Mini festival established together by shanghai concert hall and South bank art center of British took “listen to the 20th century”as theme, and study from all-around the music work which is the most essential and have most disputation and stories behind their production by three concerts, two chamber music, four lectures and one film.

Last night, a concert whose theme is “From impressionism to new classic”started the Mini festival. British conductor of new generation Ralley Mcdonald command British Aurora Orchestra, the new outstanding Chamber Orchestra, to exhibit the music development course of 20th century in shanghai concert hall.

From Debussy to Prokofiev

”British Aurora Orchestra is composed of British young solo players cherished the same ideas. The Orchestra is widely praised for perform the new work with prominent personality. The conductor Ralley Mcdonald, praised talent and handsome by Gillian Moore, the chief inspector of classic music of South bank art center. He is full of confidence on the first time the Orchestra come to China. “the music of 20th century is very diversified, thus can exhibit the diversification of the orchestra. The musician enjoyed very much to perform so much different music one time What is more, these music happened to combined the develop history of the whole history and culture of 20th century, which is very interesting.   

Concert began with Pan in the afternoon by Debussy of end of 19th century. Impressionism played an import role in eliciting the music revolution of 20th century.  The flute solo simulated the theme of reed of Pan, vividly describing the lackadaisical manner of Pan, the half man and half sheep in ancient Greek myth. The theme performed by oboe developed by interweaving motivation many times, bring ardor and fleshy level and making people feel in the dream. After sluggish “noon”, the colorful Romanian Dances by Bartók immediately open a new world for the audience , like six subminiature Romanian folk genre painting with simple picture and terse skill.

Compared with Debussy and Bartók, Copland and Vonn Williams are not so famous, but they are also key figures in the history of 20th century music. Appalachian Spring, adapted by Copland according to model ballet with the same name, vividly described various kinds of people living in the border of U.S.A. Lark Ascending, the violin concerto guided people enter to the rurality like a poem. 

The BBC host Sarah Moore Pich live explained that if this concert has a theme, it should be the disappearing folk music of European mountain area, which is collected from the music of folk music, Bartók and Williams. Whereas, Copland search for the voice belong to American country.

The music breaking the tune bondage is not wove elaborately, arranged step by step or coherent like the tradition music, but give out fascination of different styles in the process that the music is fragmentizing to present. And the audience had to admit that even sometimes it is obscure like nightmare, sometimes it talks nonsense like abreaction, these rhythm having equivocal meaning did hide complexity which is closer to modern people’s emotion experience.

The climax of the concert came from the symphony fairy tales-Peter and the Wolf, wrote by Prokofiev. In the concert, film, the most important and the art which developed most rapid, is added. High-Definition Multi-media combined with music played the animation short film Peter and the wolf, won the Oscar prize. In the music, various musical instruments’ characters is fully played, vividly sketching out the manner of every figure and every animal. The high note of flute is used to describe little birds. The staccato playing method on low note of clarinet is used to describe the little cat. The vigorousness bassoon is used to describe old grandfather. Films are more vividly and more glibly expatiate the beginning to end of plot development. For example, for the scene that Peter and his friends: crow and goose are playing on the ice, the picture and the music perfectly cooperate, as if the audiences watch a animal

ballet performance. The silly dunk dancing on the ice awkwardly like“Swan Lake” of comic version.    

Compared with latter concerts of chamber music works, which are more strong experimental. The premiere opening performance of “ from impressionism to new-classic” is the one that is most worthy to listen to and most acceptable of the whole Mini festival. Dong An, the music chief inspector of shanghai concert hall, said the music of 20th century is not only unintelligibility, but has some euphonious parts.     

Feel 20th Century Classical Music from All Around

The position of 20th century music is somewhat embarrassed in the development history of classic music. On one hand, to target audience of the contemporary music, it is huge, tedious. Apparently, it is not so easy for the target audience to accept as other pop music. However, to the amateur of traditional classical music, it is too modish, not so elegant and grand. In more cases, it belongs to academicism and music lovers of small mass who appreciate their own uncommon taste. Music pioneers, following Sch?nberg, the originator of modernism, also mostly cannot win the recognition of the public. The audience flinched to the music of 20th century. The performers also take these symptoms as private collection. Once in a while, chief inspector like Michael Tilson Thomas who is delight in spread modern music hope to make nominal rectification of these music. But he always uses the method of interpenetrating some modern symphony as sprinkle. , However, this festival , completely take modern music as theme, let audience feel the beauty of 20th century classic music from all-around by the concert of five days and five nights ,together with lectures and films. Such attempt is the first time in shanghai.          

Julian Johnson , Professor of Academy of Music，Royal Holloway，university of London, think music of 20th century is the most close to the times we are living. “My major is to do research on the 20th century music. Except for the music itself, what I care most is where they come from, why there are so big difference from the past music.” Johnson tell the journalist that the whole 20th century is made up of very complex historic humane events. “ At the beginning of 20th century, people still took carriage. However, very advanced Apple product come out in the end of 20th century. These transforms also happened on music, making music drastic change. Therefore, except for exhibiting music, we hope that we can systematically explain the course of evolution of these music and the connection between these music and the background of the times and social phenomena in Mini festival.”

Shanghai concert hall takes “bosom friend for 30 minutes” as topic of appreciation lecture before every concert. This time, in order to introduce more systematically and full and accurately, the appreciation lecture extended to be 1 hour.