BY WENDY ZHANG
Lunar New Year Celebration
Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Elim Chan (conductor); Meng Meng, Amelia Farrugia, Eva Kong (voice); and Jin Wu Koon Lion Dance Troupe
Sydney Opera House, 1 February
A Lunar New Year Celebration concert brought together a Western symphony orchestra and Chinese traditional musical instruments, a Peking opera singer and two sopranos, and different kinds of music from China and Russia to a multicultural audience. It was a celebration of the union of global traditional music, especially through the performances of Spring Festival: Overture and Iris devoilee. The orchestra was led by Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan, whose high energy and knowledge of the music were evident throughout the entire evening’s performance.
The concert opened with Spring Festival: Overture, a very popular piece inspired by folk dance tunes in Shaanxi, which is often performed at the beginning of Chinese New Year functions. According to the program note written by Gordon Kerry, this piece was one of 30 loaded onto China’s first lunar probe Chang’e 1 and broadcasted across space. It was an energetic opening by the orchestra, full of festive spirit. The flute played an expressive and beautiful melody, followed by the cellos and violas. I was happy to hear this strong performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, which reminded me of my childhood spending CNY with my family in China, asking for red envelopes, playing with firecrackers and cooking and eating dumplings.
The second piece Iris devoile, was my personal favourite of the evening. It was written by Chinese-French composer Chen Qigang, and conveyed his nine visions of the female volatility and charm through its nine movements, according to the program note by Jacques Roussel. The orchestra was joined by three Chinese traditional musical instruments (pipa, erhu and guzheng), sopranos Amelia Farrugia and Eva Kong, and Peking opera singer Meng Meng – all dressed in stunning and colourful traditional Chinese dresses. The second movement Chaste started with an erhu solo followed Meng and the strings. According to the program, Meng sang to express her love towards a handsome man and the uncertainly she felt for this love, with the harp and strings playing gently at the background. It was beautiful and harmonious – meditative and Zen, which made me feel like I was transported to a river boat in Southern China. The peace was broken when the next movement Libertine followed. It was a fast start played by the strings, and sung by Meng, Farrugia, and Kong. The music was chaotic and free-flowing, and a dramatic ending as the singers together sang: “How fantastic it is to fly away! Hai…”, with the last note lingering. The audience was stunned by the dramatic ending, but soon clapped as they enjoyed the spectacle.
The sixth movement started with disturbing sound from the strings, almost like flies buzzing around; the brass section became very loud; and the harp played fast running passages. The erhu and guzheng also played disturbing noises instead of actual melodies. The whole movement conveyed a sense of chaos, agitation and uneasiness, and I laughed when I saw the title, which was very appropriate for this movement: Jealous. The next movement, in contrast, was much more melodic and peaceful. Meng and the Western sopranos sang one after the other. Although different in singing styles, this worked surprisingly well as they complimented each other and added to the spirit this movement tried to convey: Melancholic. The erhu played beautiful nostalgic music, while brass and woodwind played a simple descending scale in repeat. I enjoyed this movement thoroughly, as I found peace and joy in listening to the Western and Chinese instruments playing together – that it was complementary and beautiful. After the piece ended, the composer Chen Qigang went up on stage to congratulate Chan and the musicians in their performance. It was a clear audience favourite as they received warm applause and cheer from all over the concert hall.
Throughout the entire evening, Chan was animated and passionate in her conducting, with big movements in the arms anticipating every pause and change in pace. Her high energy and spirits were shown through her conducting and the overall performance. It is a rare pleasure to see Asian female conductors shining on the podium stage like Chan.
The concert was followed by a lion dance performed by the Jin Wu Koon Lion Dance Troupe, and the audience left happily in the spirit of the Lunar New Year with the sound of the lion dance drums.
Images supplied. Credit: Tim Skinner.
