Another year is just around the corner of Beethoven's birth anniversary, and recently, a precious video has once again circulated on the Internet.
This is Beethoven's Ninth (Chorus) Symphony in D minor performed by Yan Liangkun in the Central Orchestra on the tenth anniversary of the founding of New China. Thinking of that era, many people were shocked by the spiritual outlook of these musicians at that time, and after more than sixty years, we can still hear the passion and piety of that special era.
【Precious Historical Scene】1959 Chinese Edition Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Vocal Chorus Part "Ode to Joy" Live Premiere Video (4K + AI Coloring) _Bilibili _bilibili
In last week's article, we mentioned that in the early 20th century, Li Shutong introduced Beethoven to the Chinese public as "Le Sheng", and then Beethoven was gradually understood and loved by more people (review).
In 1927, Mei Baiqi commanded the Shanghai Ministry of Works Bureau Orchestra to bring "Bei Jiu" to the Chinese stage for the first time, but at that time only three movements were performed, there was no chorus, and the musicians were all foreigners except for the violinist Tan Shuzhen; during the War of Resistance, "Bei Jiu" performed again in Nanjing, when the "D key" was reduced to "C key" because of the difficulty.
Therefore, this performance in 1959 can be said to be the first time that "Bei Jiu" was presented on the stage in its original tune and completely under the performance, singing and conducting of Chinese; it was also the first time in human history to sing "Ode to Joy" with Chinese, which caused quite a stir at home and abroad.
Later, a Dresden orchestra came from Germany to perform "Bei Jiu" with the Central Orchestra, and before the cooperation, the Central Orchestra first performed it for them to see, and it is said that the German musicians who have always been gentle and restrained stomped on the floor and thought it was too good to be true.
You should know that at that time, the Central Orchestra had only been established for three years, and the average age of the entire orchestra was 24 years old. In 1959, China was in a difficult period of three years, with shortages of materials and emaciation; the band members had just returned from their labor in the countryside, and there were a lot of technical problems.
But these difficulties did not hinder their enthusiasm for music, everyone helped each other, collectively tackled the problem, and finally successfully completed the performance with a high attitude, which also brought great encouragement to the young musicians.
Looking at the vibrant faces, I don't know if everyone is like Xiao He, wondering what happened to these spirited musicians later? What about now?
We pick a few typical representatives from them to approach their lives.
The orchestra conductor, Yan Liangkun, was only 36 years old at the time of the 10th anniversary, and had just returned from his studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the Soviet Union, with a thin body but full of vigor.
At the age of 15, he studied conducting with Xian Xinghai, taught himself music theory and harmony, and began his conducting career in the anti-Japanese salvation song movement. After the founding of New China, he had the opportunity to go to the Soviet Union for systematic music study. Another representative conductor song of Yan Liangkun is "Yellow River Chorus", which conducted thousands of performances in his lifetime and influenced countless people in later days. He also became one of the founders of China's professional choral career.
Perhaps in the minds of many people, Yan Liangkun is only a choral conductor, in fact, he not only conducted "Bei Jiu", but also brought the classic works of masters such as Haydn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Dvořák to the public.
During the Cultural Revolution, Yan Liangkun was once branded a "counter-revolutionary revisionist" on the grounds that he opposed the "revolutionary symphony" Sha Jiabang. This did not stop his passion for music, and on the days when he could not perform, he immersed himself in the study of music.
In the 1980s, the literary and art circles were in ruins, and it was he who first reported to the Ministry of Culture that he hoped to buy a set of Western pipe organs for the Central Orchestra. As a result, he made a mistake because he was not good at budgeting, and he also did a review, but the organ was bought as he wished, and he was excited like a child.
In 2015, the 92-year-old Yan Liangkun also stood on the stage several times to conduct the performance of "Yellow River Chorus", and died in Beijing two years later due to illness. And his energetic appearance on the stage is deeply imprinted in the memories of many people.
The chief violinist in the premiere of "Bei Jiu" in 1959 has a very nice name: Situ Huacheng.
He came from a musical family, and his musical budding began with learning erhu and later fell in love with the violin. After growing up, while studying chemical engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Hujiang University, he studied music at the Shanghai Music College, and in 1956, he joined the Central Orchestra with his excellent performance and became the concertmaster.
Situ Huacheng was a typical doer of that era, who was not only knowledgeable, combining talents such as performance, composition, teaching, and translation, but also worked very hard and gave more than 800 concerts.
After the Cultural Revolution, he transferred from the stage to a teaching position and taught at the Central Conservatory of Music. In an age when material conditions were extremely unincorporated, he tilted everything in his life toward music. In England, he used all the remuneration for being a judge to buy viola scores; in Germany, he often copied sheet music for students at the Central Conservatory of Music in the early morning, only because the night was half cheaper than the day; in the winter and summer vacations, he went to Yunnan, Tibet and other frontiers of the motherland to give lectures...
Unfortunately, due to physical reasons, in 1987, the 60-year-old Situ Huacheng passed away, and few people may remember his name today.
In addition to the conductor and principal, the "Bei Jiu" premiere is memorable, and there is also the lead singer of the choir at that time.
Tenor Wei Mingquan was already the choral head of the Central Orchestra at that time. In the later days, he not only became a famous singer, but also a vocal educator who cultivated a large number of outstanding singing talents.
He was one of the earliest tenor representatives of Western singing in the mainland, and was also the first singer to bring songs such as the Russian folk song "Three Sets of Cars" to Chinese audiences. In addition to "Ode to Joy", he was also good at singing the aria "Starry" in the opera "Tosca", as well as the Italian songs "My Sun" and "Return to Sorrento", which opened up a fresh aural world for the people of the time.
In 1981, after the Cultural Revolution, Wei Mingquan was transferred to the China Conservatory of Music to teach, where he deeply studied and summarized a series of scientific training methods for tenors, and taught well-known singers such as Lü Wenke, Deng Yuhua, and Tian Yubin.
Baritone Wei Qixian also later became a national treasure singer. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wei Qixian studied at the Nanjing National Conservatory of Music, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he taught at the Central Conservatory of Music. After joining the Central Orchestra in 1952, he studied with the Soviet singer Medvedev for a while because he wanted to star in Tchaikovsky's opera Yevgenyniekin. Tomsky - Singing Stars - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
He played Onegin in "Yevgen neonegin", and the heroine was played by Liang Meizhen, a member of the Central Orchestra and a soprano singer in "Bei Jiu" in 1959.
▲ In 1956, the Central Conservatory of Music performed the opera "Onegin" starring Liang Meizhen and Wei Qixian
It is worth mentioning that after the premiere of "Bei Jiu", Wei Qixian also sang while acting, becoming a rare "amphibian" artist at that time, and also became a familiar idol in the hearts of many post-40s and 50s.
▲ In the mid-1960s, Wei Qixian was with the army audience
After the Cultural Revolution, Wei Qixian returned to teach at the Central Conservatory of Music, while still insisting on his acting career. The movie "Qinsi", which was released in the 1980s, was starred by him.
The soprano singer Liang Meizhen at the time of the premiere of "Bei Jiu" became a typical representative of the revolutionary model play "Sha Jiabang" for a long time afterwards.
This soloist who studied vocal music with Soviet teachers Medvitev and Kukhlina won the third prize in the classical vocal works competition of the "Sixth World Youth Festival" in 1957, and after participating in China's first "Bei Jiu" performance in 1959, he held solo concerts with Wei Qixian and other singers in Xiamen, Beijing, Tianjin and other places.
Perhaps she could have had more exploration and possibilities in art, but because of the influence of the times, she could only stay in this fixed performance mode for a long time.
In fact, Liang Meizhen's experience was also a microcosm of most of the members of the Central Orchestra at that time. In the context of that particular era, Western classical music was almost incompatible with the social mainstream of the time.
In order to adapt to various movements and trends, works such as Beethoven, who had shined at the 10th anniversary gift, were shelved, and the revolutionary symphony became the mainstream of society.
▲ In 1968, Li Delun conducted the Symphony Orchestra of the Central Orchestra to perform in the countryside
▲ In 1973, all the members of the Central Orchestra were sent to the Fangshan Production Brigade to work
It was not until 1978, when Beethoven's Third Symphony, conducted by Han Zhongjie, was broadcast live by the French national broadcasting company, and in 1979, when Karajan visited China, that Western classical music re-entered people's field of vision.
Of course, on the road of artistic pursuit, different eras have different difficulties and problems, but this is already a later story.