Cao Peng: Use music to make great love sound

[The people need such a literary artist 39]

Guangming Daily reporter Yan Weiqi

A recent photo of Cao Peng Photo by Guangming Daily reporter Yan Weiqi/Guangming Pictures

Applause rang out, and the curtain opened. Cao Peng insisted on getting up from the wheelchair, his left hand was supported by his daughter, and his right hand was on a thin silver cane, and he walked step by step from the side curtain to the center of the stage.

Dressed in a black suit, his beard is gray, and his body is still straight. He walked slowly, as if wading through a river of time. The applause of the audience rose and fell, and it was not until he climbed the two steps of the podium with the help of the musicians that he slowly stopped.

The baton dropped gently. As soon as he raised his head and raised his hand, the 99-year-old Cao Peng was as energetic as a young man. Sometimes the notes are trickling, sometimes pouring out. His eyes sparkled, his ears keenly caught every note, his wrists were soft and nimble, and his baton drew graceful lines in the air.

This is the scene of the "Great Love Symphony" special concert at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on December 23, 2023. On this day, Cao Peng just celebrated his 99th birthday. More than 200 musicians from the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai City Youth Symphony Orchestra, autistic children and their families from the "Angel Bosom Friend Salon" came, musicians from the Shanghai Trumpet Research Association came, and more than 1,000 spectators came to celebrate Cao Peng's birthday.

Before the performance began, everyone was a little worried about his physical condition. In the corner of the rehearsal hall, Cao Peng sat quietly, not saying much, and his expression was not as good as before. "It's good to be on the podium. The eldest daughter, Cao Xiaoxia, comforted her friends. His youngest daughter, Xia Xiaocao, served as the principal violin of this concert, and wanted to collaborate with her father on the song "Liang Zhu" as the most special birthday gift.

The family understands him best. Cao Peng belongs to the stage, and standing on the stage is his happiest moment. In his more than 70 years of conducting career, he poured his sincere love for his family and country and his selfless love for children into his notes, and wrote a magnificent and moving symphony of great love.

Cao Peng, who was born in 1925, is a cow with a temperament similar to that of a cow. Diligent, sincere, tireless, full of tenacious vitality. "I am a native of Jiangyin, Jiangsu, I was born in the era when the motherland was still poor and backward, I grew up singing anti-Japanese songs, I was exposed to the revolution in school very early, and later participated in the party's underground work, and developed a strong and resolute character. Recalling his teenage life, Cao Peng said, "It was the music teacher who trained me, and the flute I got since I was a child followed me all my life." ”

At the age of 20, Cao Peng joined the New Fourth Army, received the tempering of his military career, and also came into contact with the art of command for the first time. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cao Peng transferred to local work, and successively served as a conductor in the Shanghai Film Orchestra and the Beijing Film Orchestra, and conducted the symphonic soundtracks of dozens of films such as "Dragon Whisker Valley" and "Outwitting Huashan". In 1955, at the age of 30, Cao Peng ushered in a turning point in his artistic career. After layers of selection, he won the only place in the country to study in the Soviet Union that year, and went to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory to study conducting. His six-year study abroad career has laid a solid foundation for him to become a first-class conductor.

In 1960, while studying at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, he conducted the first concert of Chinese symphonic works held overseas in the history of mainland music, and became the "first person" to introduce the violin concerto "Liang Zhu" overseas; in 1963, he conducted the first foreign opera "Madame Butterfly" performed by the Shanghai Opera House; In 1975, he led the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to go abroad for the first time, and cooperated with Marco Polo International Records to record more than 50 CDs of "A Series of Chinese Symphonic Music Works" for the first time in mainland history......

"The strong place is like a rainbow, and the meticulous place is exquisite. People's musician He Luting once praised Cao Peng's conducting skills. From a soldier of the New Fourth Army to a symphony conductor, Cao Peng has made unimaginable efforts. "One person can do a hundred, and a person can do a thousand", is the motto he often mentions.

During his study abroad, he saved money and seized every opportunity to attend concerts, and every time he had to do his homework in advance according to the repertoire preview, he memorized the score while listening. Orchestra rehearsals, no matter how tight the time and multiple tasks, he must know the score of the whole concert by heart. "A good orchestra is rehearsed. The conductor must memorize the music and understand all the instruments in order to communicate with the orchestra and the orchestra will respect you. "His logic is simple and unpretentious.

One day in March 2017, the reporter observed the rehearsal of Cao Peng and the orchestra in the rehearsal hall of Shanghai Nanyang Model Middle School. At 10 o'clock in the evening, the rehearsal hall was still full of music, and nearly 100 performers sat around. It was a weekend rehearsal for the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra and a snippet of the day-to-day work of the orchestra's conductor, Cao Peng, who was 92 years old at the time.

In 1995, at the age of 70, Cao Peng officially retired from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. has reached the age of teasing his grandson, but he chose to embark on a new journey of "doing good and spreading love", and devoted himself to the popularization of symphony with greater enthusiasm. "A city needs to be built by culture, and music makes a city more attractive. Cao Peng firmly believes that "without popularization, there will be no improvement." Popularizing the symphony is planting trees, building bridges, paving roads, and it is the conductor's vocation!"

In 2005, Cao Peng, who was already 80 years old, started an orchestra with the support of his family, the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra. This is a pure amateur symphony orchestra composed of a group of young white-collar workers who love music, and the members come from all walks of life. When the orchestra was founded, it was difficult to do anything – there was no rehearsal space, no funding, the members had their own jobs, and it was not easy to get to the rehearsals. Thanks to Cao Peng's painstaking efforts, the first non-professional symphony orchestra in mainland China has gone from strength to strength, becoming a warm and unique presence in the city.

At the invitation of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Cao Peng also participated in the establishment of the Shanghai Student Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai City Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Symphony Orchestra, etc., and was appointed as the honorary dean of the School of Music of Shanghai University. This national first-class conductor is determined to be a lifelong volunteer of music, using music to convey light and heat!

Because of an article about autism, in 2008, Cao Peng made a decision to establish the "Angel Bosom Friend Salon" with his daughter Cao Xiaoxia to serve autistic children, and every member of the orchestra is a volunteer. Cao Peng believes that in order to open the hearts of children, we must first open their ears. Since then, Cao Peng has become the children's favorite "Grandpa Cao".

"My child is 16 years old and plays trombone in the band. Since he was a child, he avoided crowds, was afraid of sounds, and could not go to new places. 3 years ago, we came to the salon and were pleasantly surprised to find that the children began to change, with partners and more and more smiles during the weekly activity, which was not a one-on-one training or even a lesson. Now, our hearts begin to have new expectations...... "Symphony of Love" special concert, a mother of an autistic child told reporters with tears in her eyes.

"When I'm on stage, sometimes the kids will suddenly hug me and kiss me. Getting along with the children made Cao Peng feel infinitely warm, and he insisted on not getting tired for more than 10 years. He arranged music scores for the children, took them to learn to sing, play xylophone, play brass music, and some children began to learn violin, brass and piano in various performance venues in Shanghai. "Because of music, they took a big step forward in their lives. Cao Peng said proudly.

"Do good and spread love, and be virtuous in the world" is Cao Peng's family motto for his children. There is a sign of "Home of Glory" hanging at the door of his house, with 4 small words, condensing too many years of burning passion. At the age of 14, his wife Xia Huiling went from Shanghai to the Huainan guerrilla base to join the New Fourth Army, and was Cao Peng's closest comrade-in-arms and his lover for 80 years. With Cao Peng, the hearts of the orchestra and the children will be fixed, and with the presence of his wife, Cao Peng's hearts will be fixed.

In July 2022, Cao Peng fell and couldn't move his right hand for a few months, so he could only write and eat with his left hand. "Fortunately, when we were young, we marched dozens of miles every day, ate coarse grains, had a good physical foundation, and maintained a high work intensity without getting tired. Xia Huiling said. Today, Cao Peng still insists on getting up before 7 o'clock in the morning, writing something in the morning, doing exercises at 10 o'clock in the evening, and going to bed at 11 o'clock.

"I've been working in music all my life, and music is my dream. Music is also a high ideal for children. Cao Peng said, "My whole life has been cultivated by the motherland, and I can contribute a little." Use it while I can do it. ”

When asked about his birthday wishes, Cao Peng said: "I hope that when I am 100 years old, I will have another concert!"

On March 31 this year, Cao Peng took his children to the stage of the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival and played the melody of "Love in Spring".

Guangming Daily (2024-04-06 01 edition)

Source: Guangming Net-Guangming Daily