當京劇遇到鋼琴

當京劇遇到鋼琴

廣州音樂廳上演的由譚盾指導的“霸王別姬”音樂會上，見證了中國古典京劇與西方傳統(tǒng)鋼琴交流碰撞出的絢爛火花。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

reconciling 使和解，使一致

premiere 首演

disciple 追隨者，弟子

clamour 吵鬧

percussion 打擊樂器

EinHeldenleben 交響詩（施特勞斯所作著名樂章）

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Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Xinghai Concert Hall, Guangzhou, China — review（357words）

By Ken Smith

* * *

One would be hard pressed to find more conflicting musical sources than the piano and Peking opera: the instrument that essentially defined western tonality versus a tradition where tuning is hardly an overriding concern. But for several internationally minded Chinese composers, the challenge in reconciling the two has proved irresistible.

The latest, and perhaps most ambitious attempt came in the premiere of Tan Dun’s Farewell My Concubine, a symphonic poem for piano and Peking opera performer. The composer’s inspiration was the 120th anniversary (doubling the 60-year “l(fā)ife cycle” in Asian cultures) of the birth of Mei Lanfang, Peking opera’s most celebrated figure. The chief proponent was conductor Long Yu, China’s most active commissioner of new concert music, who led the premiere.

The piece’s success, though, came primarily in pairing pianist Yuja Wang with the Peking opera performer Xiao Di, a disciple of Mei Lanfang’s son Mei Baojiu. Wang’s athletic pianism, so effective in romantic repertory, proved equally apt in mimicking the clamour of Peking opera percussion and plucking piano strings like a Chinese zither.

Tan’s score remained notably free of exoticism, its westernisations freely referencing Cage, Cowell and Crumb while the Chinese front extended traditional Peking opera technique, leaving plenty of room in the orchestration for vocal ornaments. Dramatically, Wang became the Chu warlord Xiang Yu, Xiao Di his concubine, with the music reimagining the original tale in symphonic terms much as, say, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet reimagines Shakespeare.

Despite the piece’s sturdy structure, one could envision the two soloists being given more to do, and growing bolder in their interactions. Their encores, though — Xiao Di’s traditional Peking opera tune and Wang’s blistering version of Horowitz’s Carmen Variations — revealed how much they had each ventured from their respective traditions already.

Musically, Strauss’s EinHeldenleben made a strange fit. It also lacked the polish of Long Yu’s performances with his other orchestras, the Shanghai Symphony and the China Philharmonic. But the GSO made the piece’s inner workings arguably more vibrant, and, coming right after Concubine, it did make one hear Strauss’s sonic portrayals of the Hero and his companion in a rather different light.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1. How many times have Tan Dun’s production been on stage?

a. Zero

b. One

c. Too many times

d. Two

2. What is the name of Tan Dun’s production?

a. Turandot (圖蘭朵)

b. Liang Zhu (梁祝)

c. Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬)

d. Cats (貓)

3. What is the advantage of this specific pianist, Yujia Wang?

a. She knows how to sing Peking Opera herself.

b. Her athletic pianism helped the two styles to merge.

c. She can speak Chinese.

d. The Peking Opera performer knows her well.

4. Which piece was chosen by the pianist as her solo performance?

a. EinHeldenleben（交響詩）

b. Yellow River（黃河）

c. Moonlight Sonata（月光）

d. Carmen（卡門）

[1] 答案b. One

解釋：文章第二段作者講到譚盾的這一個音樂制作是首演，所以演出場次是一次。

[2] 答案c. Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬)

解釋：文章開頭就說了，譚盾的創(chuàng)作是霸王別姬（“Farewell My Concubine”）。

[3] 答案b. Her athletic pianism helped the two styles to merge.

解釋：文章第三段作者提到Yujia Wang的演奏特點有助于鋼琴聲音與京劇音樂的融合。

[4] 答案d. Carmen（卡門）

解釋：文章倒數(shù)第二段有講到鋼琴家最后的獨奏是卡門（Carmen）。