Performers in the United States： China Orchestra should bring good works abroad and don’t engage in hodgepodge.

　　During the just-concluded tour of the National Grand Theatre Orchestra in the United States, the Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra by American composer Lu Harrison, played by pipa player Wu Man in the United States, became a unique work that attracted attention during the tour. Although this work was created 20 years ago, Wu Man and Chicago Symphony Orchestra won the Grammy Award for Best Solo and Band for this work, and they have cooperated with foreign orchestras many times in the past, it is the first time to take this work to tour with China Orchestra. At the end of the tour with the Orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Wu Man said in an interview: "There are many overseas performances by the China Orchestra, so it is necessary to bring good works out before they will be affected and concerned. What I am most afraid of is that all the works are left there like a hodgepodge."

　　"Introduction to Pipa" written by Americans

　　Beiqing Daily: What’s the feeling of playing this work?

　　Wu Man: This work is very difficult, and all the pipa parts are monophonic. The most difficult thing is the single tone. How to make the single tone pop up makes people feel interesting. This is a special test. In fact, the score that Lou Harrison gave me when he wrote it was a single tone, and there were no pipa fingering on it. All fingering was designed by myself. This work can also play the flute, guitar and any musical instrument. He said, "This is for you. How can you play it like a pipa?"

　　Beiqing Daily: What do Western audiences think of this work?

　　Wu Man: From the western audience, I think it is a particularly good model for listening to Chinese musical instruments. Many audiences have never heard of the pipa. After listening to this song, he became interested and found it very interesting. Especially, there are few traditional music from other countries in the central United States performing there. Sometimes I perform with local orchestras, and the audience will say, "It’s very nice." Moreover, there are some beautiful passages with string plucking, so I think it is a very good work to introduce Chinese musical instruments. It’s a very fresh work for the audience in China, which is different from what China composers wrote and what they usually hear. In the past, we guessed that the Pipa Concerto was like that, which is the opposite. It’s actually a very interesting music language and a manifestation of the combination of two cultures.

　　Take China’s works carefully.

　　Beiqing Daily: What do you think of this tour with so many China works by the National Grand Theatre Orchestra?

　　Wu Man: I think it’s particularly good. It’s particularly meaningful to bring the works of China composers, teachers Zhao Jiping and Chen Qigang. This is necessary. I was sitting in the audience, and my foreign friends around me, including the director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said it was a good work. Everyone has heard it, but this work has never been heard before. The style is very different from that of China’s works heard in the past. It is very different from Beethoven and modern and contemporary composers. There are elements of China in it. Many people ask me what those national percussion music are, and they think the sound is very special, bringing out elements of China opera. This work is particularly successful and mature.

　　Beiqing Daily: Do you have any suggestions for China Orchestra to bring China’s works abroad?

　　Wu Man: The suggestion is to bring good things out, and never bring bad things, because in the past, some orchestras took too many bad things abroad, which sometimes made people laugh and cry. Therefore, you must bring good things before you can really enter the level of communication. The so-called "good" is actually difficult to define, but you really have to think carefully about what kind of tracks you bring. I think it’s really been considered for a long time this time, and all the works brought out are works with some meaning in them. What I fear most is that all kinds of works are left there, like a hodgepodge. I think what China Orchestra brings abroad must have its own characteristics, whether it’s classical music or traditional folk bands, and it must have traditional and good things. I’m going to take the Shaanxi old tune out in March next year, and I’m going to tour 12 cities in the United States. Many concert halls need it, and if I want to bring it, I’ll bring it with me. In the past, some orchestras didn’t think about going abroad to perform their tracks, but they brought them here at sixes and sevens, and it didn’t matter if they found a place to perform, nor did the audience. It was a pity to find some China audiences to watch and do something for the sake of doing something, which wasted musicians’ talents and opportunities. If you really think about it, bring some good things.

　　Text/Reporter Lun Bing Photography/Wang Xiaojing