Composer of note given a global stage

In October 2005, American musicologist John O. Robison fulfilled his longtime dream of paying a visit to China.

He came to Beijing to attend a conference held at the Central Conservatory of Music.

One day, he asked Chinese students of the school, who were assigned to receive foreign guests attending the conference, about Chinese composers. Instead of asking about those who have achieved fame and lived in the United States, Robison wanted to learn more about Chinese composers who spent their lives in their home country.

Two of the students took the musicologist to a CD shop next to the university and told Robison that Zhu Jianer (1922-2017) was one of the most famous and highly respected composers living in China. At their suggestion, Robison bought the recordings of Zhu's 10 symphonies, and after hearing them, he immediately came to the conclusion that those music works represented "an incredibly significant milestone in the rather brief history of 'Western-style' composition in China".

Since then, he was interested in listening to, and analyzing, Zhu's symphonies. Five years after his first visit to China — in November 2010 — he was finally able to make contact with Zhu through his daughter, and interviewed him for the first time in Shanghai on Nov 13,2010, when Zhu was 88 years old.

Last month, on the occasion of the late Zhu's 100th birthday, new books written by Robison about Zhu and his music works were published both in the US and in China.

Zhu Jianer and the Symphony in China was published by Zhejiang University Press in Chinese and English. The Symphonies of Zhu Jianer: A Western Perspective was published in English by Peter Lang Publishing. Each of Zhu's 10 symphonies is discussed in detail in the books and there are in-depth discussions about Chinese and Western elements in Zhu's symphonies, including such topics as his free use of 12-tone technique, his exploration of sound and his diverse and fascinating approach to musical form.

"I accomplished my goal of elevating Zhu as one of the most significant 20th-century composers to all parts of the world," says Robison in an interview with China Daily. He adds that he began working on his books about Zhu around the end of 2010, in between his other book projects.

It took several years for the final formatting, editing and translation of his analytical research on Zhu's symphonies into Chinese, Robison explains.

Born as Zhu Rongshi in Tianjin, Zhu Jianer moved with his family to Shanghai at a young age and taught himself to play the piano in his early teens. He was heavily influenced by Chinese composer Nie Er, who wrote March of the Volunteers, which became China's national anthem. Zhu Rongshi changed his name to Zhu Jianer after Nie died in 1935, literally showcasing his wish of "carrying out Nie Er's will".

Zhu started composing as a young musician and despite having no formal training, in 1949 he was recruited by film studios in Shanghai and Beijing. In 1955, Zhu went to study at the Moscow Conservatory (also known as Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory), where he stayed for five years and started to compose music integrating Chinese and Western elements, encouraged by his teacher, composer Sergey Balasanian.

During his time in Moscow, he composed Festive Overture for the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. In 1960, he returned to his home country after graduation. He also wrote patriotic songs and one of his most well-known, Sing a Song for the Party, which was first released in 1963, is still performed by singers and choirs today.

In 1975, Zhu was appointed as composer-in-residence of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

At 64, he finished his first symphony. From 1985-99, he composed 10 more, which enabled him to emerge as the most prominent symphonist in China. In 1990, his Symphony No 4 won a major European composition competition — Queen Marie Jose International Competition for Musical Composition in Switzerland — making him the first Chinese composer to win the award.

In his lifetime, he also composed 17 orchestral music works, 15 chamber music works and eight vocal pieces. Zhu passed away in Shanghai in 2017, at the age of 95.

"His 10 symphonies are incredibly original and probably the most important symphonies of the late 20th century. Western readers need to thoroughly examine and study his music, particularly his symphonies, to understand how he could take a standard genre of European music, dating to the 1730s, and create works of incredible vitality and spirit," Robison says.

The musicologist can still recall his first interview with Zhu in 2010.The composer was outside his apartment gates waiting for Robison's arrival. Robison was surprised by Zhu's perceptive views on many aspects of music. When Robison asked him about the influence of Buddhist music upon his own thinking, Zhu became so excited with that question that he got up quickly from his chair, and rather excitedly began making big, strong motions with his body as he showed Robison the types of powerful motions accomplished by Buddhist drummers. The musicologist had a second interview with Zhu in Shanghai in May 2015, which he says was equally wonderful.

He also notes that Zhu had an extremely free approach to the European 12-tone technique.

"He always said to me that the most important thing was to write good melodies, and not to worry about the order of the 12 notes in the 'tone row'," Robison says.

As the professor of musicology and an early music ensemble director at the University of South Florida, Robison, who has been on the School of Music faculty of the university since 1977, received his doctorate in musicology from Stanford University in 1975. Since 1990, his research interests have become more global through his work on contemporary composers from Asian, African and Latin American cultures. Over the past decade, he has been devoted to studying intercultural composers and modern compositional trends from China, India and South Korea.

His longtime friend and colleague, Chinese musicologist Yu Hui, translated his new book, Zhu Jianer and the Symphony in China, into Chinese. Yu also helped publish it and the other book, The Symphonies of Zhu Jianer: A Western Perspective, while acting as the chief editor for the two book series.

"Zhu's symphonies are some of the most significant contributions to late 20th-century symphonic music, which deserve worldwide recognition. These new books about Zhu will increase worldwide understanding of Chinese and Chinese-influenced composers," says Yu, who received his PhD in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in the US in 2000. He is currently a "distinguished professor" of the Changjiang Scholars Program of the Chinese Ministry of Education and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Yu also recalls his meeting with Zhu in the 1990s, when he was on the Shanghai Conservatory of Music faculty from 1991-96. Besides his artistic achievements, Zhu's passion for discovery, creating and learning deeply impressed him.

"I always saw him sitting in classrooms at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, learning from young faculty members who just returned from the West. I met him again when he visited the US in his 70s, and he still tried learning English when reading the restaurant menu," recalls Yu.

This year, concerts have been held across the country to mark Zhu's centennial.

On Oct 22, a concert performed by the China National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Chen Xieyang was held at Beijing Concert Hall, with music works that included Sketch of the Qianling Mountain Op 23 and Symphonic Fantasia — In Memory of Martyrs for Truth Op 21.

On Oct 23, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra performed under conductors Zhang Jiemin and Zhang Lu, featuring Zhu's Symphony No 10 Fishing in Snow, Lantern Festival for orchestra Op 44 and Water Dragon Chant for soprano and string orchestra Op 47. The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and China Record Group released a vinyl record featuring seven of Zhu's chamber music works.

"During my 55-year career as a conductor, I am glad to have worked with Zhu for 20 years. I invited him to join in rehearsals, telling musicians about the meaning and emotion of his music," recalls Chen. "In my opinion, his 10th symphony was composed for himself. The piece is full of creativity, featuring Peking Opera singing, guqin and music from tape. It might be one of the most difficult music pieces I have ever conducted."