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From: "Julia Galli"
<jgalli windsorsymphony.com>
Tribute to Changchun China Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 8:00
p.m.
The lyricism of Borodin; the power of
Beethoven; and a Chinese folk epic set for violin and orchestra
salute our Sister City from across the pacific--Changchun, China. Alexander Borodin Symphony no. 3, "The Unfinished" Chen/He
Butterfly Lovers Concerto
John Morris Russell, Conductor
Butterfly Lovers Concerto Chen Gang The Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto
The Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto
was written in 1959 by two Chinese composers, Chen Gang He Zhanhao is more widely credited for the composition of the concerto. However, his main contribution was the famous opening theme while most of the development was in fact written by Chen Gang. The concerto is in one movement, but is broken into distinct sections. Each tells a different part of the story of the Butterfly Lovers. Some of the melodies come from the Chinese Opera of the same name or from traditional Chinese folk songs. The solo violin of the concerto is symbolic of Zhu Yingtai, the story's protagonist, and the cello part is symbolic of Liang Shanbo, her lover. The concerto begins with a flute and then enters into a simple melody played by the solo violinist. This melody comes from a Chinese folk song of the yellow river, and tells the story of Zhu Yingtai's childhood. The solo violin is accompanied by a harp and other elements of the orchestra. Next, the concerto tells of Zhu Yingtai's disguising herself as a man and her journey to Hangzhou to attend school. The solo violin plays a complex and fast melody floating above the rest of the orchestra. When Zhu arrives she meets Liang Shanbo, a fellow student. The two spend three years together as good friends. Zhu falls in love with Liang, but cannot express her feelings without revealing her identity as a woman. When both the students must return home, Zhu invites Liang to visit her family and to court her sister. He doesn't know that Zhu is really inviting him to marry her. Liang promises to see Zhu again, but Liang waits before doing so. When Liang arrives, he sees Zhu and realizes that she is a woman, and they fall in love. The solo violin and cello parts play a sad duet that is the most famous and powerful of the work. The love duet between the two is replaced by anger as Liang learns that in his absence, Zhu has been betrothed to another. The two solo parts contrast the rest of the orchestra. Several melodies are used in this section, the orchestra plays loud and accented chords in between the softer cello and violin parts and the parts are often intertwined. Liang becomes sick and dies as the music replays the duet of their love. Zhu and the orchestra continue to play their contrasting parts. The section ends with the suicide of Zhu Yingtai as the solo violin plays an overarching high note. The lover's parts are overcome by a final orchestral section. In the legend, Liang's grave opens and Zhu throws herself into the chasm. The lovers' themes return and the two lovers are magically transformed into butterflies.
Min Xie
Min Xie joined the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in 2004 as an ECO Violinist. In addition to his role with the WSO, Xie is Concertmaster for the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. During the summer, he also serves as a Visiting Professor at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in China. As a professional musician, Min Xie has played solo recitals, chamber music concerts and in orchestras in China, Japan, Germany and the US. A CD with him as a soloist accompanied by Oriental National Symphony of Xi'an was released in 2008. Min Xie has established his performing and teaching career with various music organizations and outstanding musicians. He started as a violinist for the Shaanxi Opera Troupe in China, where he gained a great deal of experience from playing operas. From 1983 to 1996, he was a violin faculty member at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in which he was also Concertmaster of the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. During that time, he was invited as a co-host in the provincial radio program to introduce classical music, composers and violin repertoires to the general audience. He was also actively involved with various solo and chamber music ensembles that led him to tours in major cities of China. Being the first violinist of the Xi'an String Quartet, China, Xie was invited to study at the Michigan State University as a visiting scholar under Dr. Walter Verdehr, distinguished professor of MSU. Between 1984 and 1986, the Xi'an String Quartet was trained by the Verdehr Trio as well as the Juilliard String Quartet. In 1990, Xie performed in the 1st Pacific
Music Festival (PMF) in Japan, founded by Leonard Bernstein.
In 2004, Min Xie obtained the Doctoral of Musical Arts (DMA)
degree from the Michigan State University. While pursuing his
degree at MSU, Xie served as a violin instructor at its College
of Music. In the meantime, he was Concertmaster of the MSU Symphony
Orchestra and he gave chamber music recitals with faculty of
the school. Furthermore, he was also the Principal 2nd Violinist
in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. Previously, Xie was an Artist-in-Residence
for the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp as well as Concertmaster of
its Festival Orchestra and First Violinist of a faculty quartet |
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Beethoven
& Beyond
is one of the most famous works of Chinese
music and certainly one of the most famous outside of China.
It is an orchestral adaptation of an ancient legend, the Butterfly
Lovers. Written for the western style orchestra, it features
a solo violin played using some Chinese techniques.
and He Zhanhao 
, while
they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The
music did not acquire popularity before the late 1970s, when
China loosened its restrictions after the Cultural Revolution.
Once released from censorship, it became an embodiment of China
in transition. The work is a common feature in figure skating
and in concert halls worldwide. This concerto is now often performed
with Chinese instruments playing the violin part, the most common
being Erhu, Pipa and Liuqin. In such cases the soloist is often
accompanied by an orchestra consisting of Chinese instruments.
