“I take the propagation of Chinese culture as my life responsibility. It is my mission and I’m honored to be able to explore and contribute to the development of Chinese music,” says Yan Huichang, creative director and principal conductor for lifetime of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
HONG KONG, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s efficiency of the Palace of Eternal Life on a Moonlit Night introduced a full home to the Hong Kong Cultural Center’s grand theater on Friday night time.
The lights dimmed and the music was but to start out.
“What a bright moon night!” Yan Huichang, 69, creative director and principal conductor for lifetime of the orchestra, mentioned aloud from the rostrum.
This was a Kunqu opera and conventional Chinese music live performance, that includes artists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, kicking off the orchestra’s forty seventh orchestral season.
The present was concerning the tragic love story of Emperor Tang Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (618-907) and his beloved consort Yang Guifei. It innovatively adopted the type of a musical theater and built-in the performing artwork of historical Kunqu opera with the stay efficiency of a Chinese orchestra, bringing the viewers new visible and sound expertise.
“Crossover” just isn’t new to Yan. Since taking the helm of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in June 1997, Yan has been decided to be “eclectic and unique.” He was at all times on the forefront of the Chinese music circle, actively explored interplay with totally different sectors, and made a collection of daring makes an attempt to foster collaborations between Chinese orchestras and varied creative genres.
Yan’s orchestra took Chinese music because the core and seemed on the world. “We expand the artistic expression through the integration of cross-culture and cross-media, to allow more Chinese and foreign audiences to understand and love our Chinese music,” he mentioned.
Growing up in a rural space of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, the place Chinese conventional tradition is profound, Yan was surrounded by a powerful creative ambiance since childhood. During festivals, troupes entered the village to carry out drama, singing, dancing, which turned Yan’s preliminary musical enlightenment.
“We have a rich collection of folk music including opera, instrumental music, singing and dancing, and it’s an important category of traditional Chinese music,” he mentioned, including that this was an inexhaustible supply of creative creation.
The orchestra and the Hong Kong Arts Festival collectively launched the “Music about China” collection in 2007, releasing items of works annually since then to showcase the wealthy range of Chinese music.
“As traditional Chinese music is a priceless treasure, we have the responsibility to protect and inherit it, and do our best to present it, so that the audience can appreciate the charm of traditional culture,” Yan mentioned.
In July 2019, Yan was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region authorities in recognition of his efforts to advertise the event of Hong Kong tradition and artwork.
In the primary years after taking workplace in Hong Kong, a global metropolis the place Chinese and Western cultures converge, Yan had been eager about the positioning of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
While the orchestra is backed by the motherland and deeply rooted in Chinese conventional tradition, it ought to be a platform for cultural and creative exchanges and integration between China and international nations, he mentioned.
Yan labored within the China National Orchestra for a few years, and had additionally carried out massive orchestras in Singapore, Russia, Japan and different nations. He has gained a world imaginative and prescient by these cross-cultural experiences.
He typically led the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to exit and carry out at well-known artwork festivals around the globe to reinforce exchanges with counterparts and broaden their horizons.
After many years of pioneering work, Yan has turn into a widely known Chinese music conductor and composer at house and overseas.
“I take the propagation of Chinese culture as my life responsibility. It is my mission and I’m honored to be able to explore and contribute to the development of Chinese music,” he mentioned.