IntegratingChineseandWesternMusic
In1970,GaowasborntoafamilyofmusiciansinChengdu,SichuanProvince.Thesonofafamedcomposer,ProfessorGaoWeijieandacelebratedsinger,LuoLianglian,Gaodisplayedmusicaltalentataveryyoungage.Atnine,healreadystunnedthefamilywithimpromptupianoperformances.In1990,GaowenttotheU.S.,wherehegainedhisdoctoraldegreein2003attheCollege-ConservatoryofMusic,UniversityofCincinnati.HeremainedaprofessorattheUniversityofCanterburyuntil2013.Andsincethen,hehasbeenteachingatCapitalNormalUniversityinChina,whileworkingasaguestprofessoratChinaConservatoryofMusic.
TheoverseaslivingexperienceofovertwodecadesinfluencedGao’sapproachtolifeandmusic.Hebelievedthatbeingawayfromaplaceenablespeopletolookatthatplaceinadifferentperspective.“AfterleavingChina,Ibegantopaymoreattentiontobackgroundsandidentities.IfIlivedinChinathewholetime,Imaynothavereflectedonmyselfandmyculture,”Gaosaid.AlthoughhewasawayfromChinaforsomanyyears,hehadbeendevotedtovariousactivitiestostayattachedtoChinesecultureaswellaspromoteit.In2003,theGreaterCincinnatiChineseMusicSocietyawardedGaoforhisartisticachievements.AftertheWenchuanearthquakeinSichuanProvinceofChina,GaogaveseveralfundraisingperformancesinWellingtonaswellasinTokyo.
Gaowonmanyawardsininternationalpianocompetitions.HisworkshavebeenperformedinEurope,NorthAmerica,LatinAmerica,andAsia.FamousAmericancomposerFredericRzewskidescribedGaoPingbysaying,“GaoPingisoneofanewgenerationthatisbreathingnewlifeintotheclassicaltradition.AneveningwithGaoPing’smusicisatrueadventure!”
Gao’salbumsTheStory-tellerandPianoQuintet—“Mei,Lan,Zhu,Ju”(meaningtheplumblossom,theorchid,thebamboo,andthechrysanthemum),issuedbyNaxos,havebeenpopular.PercorsiMusicali,arenownedmusicassociation,commentedthatGao’sworkisrichinbeautifuldetails…theabilitytocreatemusicalimagesbasedmerelyonwritingorfeelinghasmadeGaoPingoneofthemostimportantcomposerstoemergefromChinainrecentyears.GaoPinggivingaperformancecalled“Sibuxiang”withtheForbiddenCityChamberOrchestrainSaintPetersburg.Since2012,Gaobegantointegratefolkmusicintohiscomposition.“Ifounditquiteaninterestingfield.FolkmusicisdifferentfromthemusiccomposedforWesternmusicalinstruments,becausetraditionalChinesemusicalinstrumentsdifferfromtheminshapes,playingtechniques,andrange.Theyalsocarrydifferentculturalsymbols.”Tofullyembodytheadvantagesandcharacteristicsofallthemusicalinstruments,Gaostudiedeveryinstrumentusedinhiscomposition.“Guqin(atraditionalChineseseven-stringedzither)isoneofmyfavorites,”saidGao.“TherewasaperiodIspentlisteningsolelytoguqin.”
Debussy:EnamoredwithEasternCulture
OnMay5,thefirstconcertinhonorofthe100thdeathanniversaryofDebussywasheldintheSichuanConservatoryofMusicinChengdu.GaonameditafterHarmonieduSoir,thetitleofapoembythefamousFrenchpoetCharlesPierreBaulelaire.
DebussyislikeamentortoGao.Tohim,DebussyisacomposerwhohasbroughtagreatdealofinsightintoChina’smusicalcompositioninthepast100years.
In1583,duringtheMingDynasty,MatteoRiccicametoChina,andwithhimhebroughtWesternmusicalinstrumentsincludingthepianoandtheorgan.TheseinstrumentscapturedtheimaginationoftheChinesepeopleandbroadenedtheirperspectives.
In1915,theChineselinguistandmusicianZhaoYuanrencomposedtheMarchofPeace,whichwastheearliestChinesepianocompositiononrecord.Pianocompositionhasahistoryofnearly100yearsinChina,duringwhichWesternmusichasgreatlyinfluencedit,especiallyFrenchmusiciansrepresentedbyRavelandDebussy.“ChinesemusiciansstillshareastrongbondwithDebussytothisday.Today,notonlydoestheChineseaudienceenjoyDebussy’sworks,contemporaryChinesecomposersalsoexpresstheirresonancewithDebussyintheirworks.”Gaonoticedthat,asearlyastheendofthe19thcentury,DebussyshowedinterestinOrientalarts.DebussyoncewontheRomePrize,andwhilehewasinRome,hespentplentyoftimecollectingEasternartcraftsinlocalantiquestores.DebussywasalsoratherfondofChineseculture.“InDebussy’sworks,peoplecanseeacommunicationbetweenWesternandEasterncultures.Theinfluencesaremutual.”saidGaoPing.PosterfortheHarmonieDuSoirConcertinChengdu.Basedonhisresearch,GaobelievedtheobsessionwiththeunusualandenthusiasmtowardstheexoticreachedepidemicproportionsinEuropeinthe19thcentury.Debussywasinthecenterofallthese.However,differentfromothercontemporaryartists,DebussydidnotjustusetheEasternstyleasadecorationtohiswork,norwasheobsessedwithEasternculturepurelyfornovelty,ascondescendingattitudeswerecommonincolonialtimes.“DebussywasthefirstartistwhoactuallyfeltthebeautyofEasternculture.HebelievedthattheEasternbeautyisrichincertainaspectswhichWesternbeautylacks,yetthetwostylesareequallybeautiful.Theorientalispurelyexotic.”GaotookPagodesasanexample.“Atthe1889ParisExpo,DebussyheardtheGamelanmusicfromtheJavaIslandforthefirsttime.Hewasdeeplytouchedbytheexoticstyle,anddrivenbythis,hecomposedthePagodes.”
GaobelievedthattherehasbeenaculturalbondbetweentheChineseandtheFrench:Comparedtoothercultures,FrenchmusicorpaintingsaremorelikelytobeappreciatedbytheChinese.Maybeaesthetically,thesetwocultureshavelessbarriersinunderstandingeachother;Debussy’sworksaregreatlyinfluencedbyEasternmusic,makingthemevenmorelikelytobeappreciatedbytheChinese.Forexample,inDebussy’sworkEtLaLuneDescendSurLeTempleQuiFut,everynoteremindspeopleofChina!
PromotingChineseMusicalPieces
“Nowadays,agreatnumberofpeopleinChinaarelearningmusicalinstrumentslikethepiano,andIbelievenoothercountrycancomparewithChinainthenumberofmusicstudents.Wehaveexcellentconcerthalls,wherepeoplecanenjoyexcellentperformances.Chinaalsohasrenownedpianists,likeLangLangandLiYundi,”saidGao.DespitetheboomingsceneofclassicalmusicinChina,GaopointedouttheworksofChinesecomposersfailtoreceivetheattentionandappreciationtheydeserve.“Chinesecomposersarebecomingmoreandmoreinfluentialontheinternationalstage,withmanyofthembeinginvitedtoperformabroad.ButinChina,theyaremoreorlessneglected.WeshouldputmoreeffortsintopromotingtheworksofChinesecomposers,”saidGao.
Gaohimselfhasbeenperforminglocallyorinothercountries.HesaidthatinmegacitieslikeBeijingorShanghai,peoplecanenjoyperformancesfromworld-classpianists.ThesepianistsusuallyplayWesternclassics,andsometimescontemporaryworks.ButworksbyChinesecomposersarerarelyperformed.Thesituationhasbeenchanging,butduetolimitslikemarketresponse,changeisstillratherslow.Inhisperspective,mostcommunicationsbetweentheEastandtheWestjuststayinacademiccircle,whilecommerciallythereisanapparentlackofconnection.
BeingaChinesecomposer,GaohasalwaysbeenthinkingonhowtointerpretChineseculture,meanwhilepresentinghispersonalityinhiscomposition.“Idon’tagreewiththeterm‘Chineseelement’.ItisnotthattheChinesecultureissomeseasoning,andonecanjustaddsometomakehismusictaste‘Chinese’.Chinesecultureisrichandprofound,whatwecanshowothersarebeyondthosesuperficialelements.”Gaohopedhecanunderstandandperformmusicinthelightofculture,beyondnationsandnationalities.“Chinesemusicismuchmorethantheuseofpentatonicscales,”Gaosaid.
Whenitcomestodiversityandinclusiveness,yearsofoverseaslivingexperiencesgaveGaoaprofoundunderstanding:“WelearnWesternmusic,andadheretoaWesternstyleintermsofplayingskillsandnotation.Butatthesametime,weneedtopresentourownculturalbackgroundsandexperiences.”