Nations in harmony

Visiting musicians help nurture a closer and more emotional relationship between two different cultures

In the eyes of Li Zhixiang, who is the delegation head of China's National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra, one of the orchestra's most famous strategic partners, the Philadelphia Orchestra, carries special weight for him and his team.

"The Philadelphia Orchestra was the first Western musical body to come to China since 1949 - that was in 1973 when the United States and China did not yet have diplomatic relations - and performed Western classical pieces for the Chinese audience," Li says. "Neither of us can forget that page of our history and friendship."

Frequent exchanges between the two leading orchestras since then have led to a sense of intimacy on both sides, evident when NCPAO artists went to local grassroots communities and streets in Philadelphia to play music before their grand performance on Nov 1.

"It is not a special arrangement, actually, to perform high art to ordinary people," Li says. "There is a shared sense of responsibility for the NCPAO and the Philadelphia Orchestra, to boost music in our cities, to make it more accessible to grassroots communities."

But more important is the hope of both sides to give US citizens access to young Chinese artists playing their own music as well as works from the Western world, according to Allison Vulgamore, head of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

"These young men and women are generally in their 30s, and that is quite something - something awesome," she says. "Our Philadelphia people can listen to the works of Brahms, Mozart and Tchaikovsky as much as they like, but most of them have no access to Chinese composers and their work."

As part of the booming cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, the NCPAO performed in Chicago and New York before coming to Philadelphia, but the musicians had special treats for Philadelphia.

Earlier in the day, eight young musicians played both Chinese and Western classical music at Liberty Place, a shopping mall. Their skilled performance of Jerry Bock's Fiddler on the Roof and Johann Strauss' Tritsch Tratsch Polka attracted dozens of shoppers, who then enjoyed some beautiful Chinese folk songs.

Maria Andriasova, 82, from Russia, was there and says the music played by the young Chinese musicians was amazing.

"The music they played was reminiscent of my days in Russia," she says. "Our people also like sad rhythms, but the Chinese have to have a heart to play things so emotionally."

Not far from Liberty Place was the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where 75 students in the school band were rehearsing the theme songs from E.T. and The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, under the instruction of NCPAO Assistant Conductor Yuan Ding.

To 16-year-old Agnes Williams, the teacher from across the Pacific Ocean was admirable. "The Chinese teacher made a very good impression on our band and myself as well. He was very instructional. He knows how to teach us. It is a very good experience to get to know some other teacher than your regular American teacher. But I definitely hope to be able to go to China one day and play Chinese instruments there."

Brand Ewing, teacher and band director, didn't shy away from complimenting his Chinese counterpart. "He was fantastic and amazing. The students enjoyed it very much. And he was lovely with the students, very kind, very gentle. They played very well under his instruction. I was very impressed by his teaching and I was very inspired by his communication with students. He was a very capable, talented and charismatic conductor."

For his part, Yuan had a very good impression of his US students. "They are more outgoing compared with their Chinese peers, but students from both countries are passionate about music. I think they conveyed their feelings and their aspirations through each and every note they played."

The US trip was not just rewarding for Yuan and the students but for the young orchestra musicians on both sides as well.

"We got closer and closer as our performance went to different destinations. My counterpart in the Philadelphia Orchestra, Ms Vulgamore, said China is like their second home. It's the same for us with the US. The historical, business and emotional connections are priceless," says NCPAO's Li.

"Besides bringing music to ordinary people, the NCPAO wanted the Americans to have access to the best works of famous Chinese composers, and that was what we were pursuing. The Philadelphia people can listen to Johannes Brahms as often and as much as they like, but that isn't the case if they want to try Chinese music," he says.

At the formal performance on Nov 1, in the presence of hundreds of people, the NCPAO performed Violin Concerto No 1 and Reflect D'un Temps Disparu, created respectively by Chinese composers Zhao Jiping and Chen Qigang, as well as Brahms' Symphony No 4, receiving lengthy applause and cheers from the audience.

According to Walter Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy and for regional and security policy at the US State Department, it was good to see Chinese and American people connect on a personal level.

To Nick Platt, a diplomatic veteran who went to China in 1973 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has witnessed China's dramatic development ever since, there was something deeper.

"Cultural exchanges play a very steadying role in our bilateral relations. They keep our relationship on track. Everybody understands the language of music. We have a long tradition going back to the very beginnings of US-China relations. The exchanges between our musicians are what keep it alive," he said.

"The US and China... have been partners and competitors - I don't think that will change. But I think the general positive part of our relations will last, because we have been so intertwined. We have no other alternatives," says Platt.

Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 11/17/2017 page22)