(June 5th , 2013, Hong Kong) Leading Guzheng virtuoso Lunlun Zou will meet Erhu genius Guo Gan in Hong Kong in a crossover between east and west by music on June 30th – on the eve of the 16th Year Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Reunification with China, at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. This is a “crossover” between traditional and modernity, between east and west, and an inner quest of hearts and minds for all audience with a genuine love of traditional Chinese music.
Organised by IAMA (International Academy of Musical Arts) and Oregon Scientific, “Beau soir en Hong Kong” set to take audiences onto a journey of appreciating traditional Chinese cultures from an all-new angle. Selections include traditional Guzheng and Erhu masterpieces, western classics in Guzheng and Erhu interpretations, and Guzheng and Erhu interpretations of Chinese-style music pieces originally composed in western instruments, bringing to all audience a fusion gourmet feast of Chinese and Western cultures. Young people of Hong Kong may also have the opportunity to appreciate the wonderful culture of their motherland up-close. The concert also seeks to raise fund for IAMA to bring new generations into their aspiring musical careers.
A Crossover of East-West/Old-New and A quest of hearts and minds
Guzheng, Erhu and piano are the 3 instruments of “dialogue” over the course of the concert. Lunlun Zou and Guo Gan will first play out Chinese traditional masterpieces such as “Song of Fishing Boats” (漁舟唱晚)、 “The Butterfily Lovers” (梁祝—化蝶)、 “A Moonlit Night On The Spring River” (春江花月夜)、 “Bon Fire Dance Of Yao People” (瑤族舞曲). The audience will then “travel forward” in time to appreciate modern compositions including “Horses Race” (賽馬) in Guzheng solo、and “Against the Typhoon” (戰颱風)in Erhu solo, both accompanied by the symbol of western music —-piano. From here, they will be brought forth to the next stop: a Guzheng-Erhu treat of Western classics, such “Les feuilles mortes” and “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” by Claude Debussy. The show would also feature a Guzheng-Erhu reimaging of “Lĭ xiāng Lán(李香蘭)” and “In The Mood of Love(花樣年華)”, masterpieces in Chinese styles composed in western instruments, and a play of Gayageum, a traditional Korean instrument made in the image of Guzheng, by special guest Professor Lu Jin.
“Beau soir en Hong Kong” will bring forth to all audience a journey of “crossover” through Guzheng and Erhu. The concert has 3 core messages:
- A Dialogue of Tradition and Modernity: Utilising renowned classics to bring all audience into the old times for inner peace;
- A Crossover of East and West: Utilising Chinese and French/International masterpieces to highlight the common grounds between cultures, to make good the notion that music is an international language;
- An inner quest of hearts and minds: Bringing audience into a unique inner quest of art through music, allowing endless imaginations and an appreciation of the traditional Chinese culture.
A Fusion Gourmet Feast of East-West Classics
Being the central figures of this journey of east-west crossover, Lunlun Zou and Guo Gan have made tremendous achievements in their musical careers and their works on bringing together east and western musical traditions.
Lunlun has been taking an active part in bringing personal concerts to the PRC, North America and the Oceania, appearing on music programmes and working on music education. She is most renowned for her distinctive, free-spirited and cheerful performing style. She plucks strings not only with her hands, but also with her heart, passionately and gracefully, with ease and confidence. Her effortless play carries a charge of joy, which is very infectious to everyone in the audience. She believes that music is not only a mean to express arts and emotions, but also a communication tool. As she said in a recent interview: “I really learn that music is the most powerful ‘weapon’ of all, so much powerful and convincing than mere words and talks.”
Born in Shenyang and residing in Paris at the moment, Guo Gan is renowned in the areas of percussion music and Erhu playing and composing. He has worked with famous artists, musicians and orchestras and involved in a wide variety of performance projects including classical music, jazz, opera and modern music, etc.
For many years, Guo Gan works closely with top international orchestras including the Paris Opera House Orchestra, the Pengang Modern Dance Company, and renowned music legends such as Lang Lang and French pianist Colette Merklen. He has also worked on music for box-office hits such as movies “The Lovers(情人)”, “The Sparrow(文雀)”. His excellence in Erhu and Percussion music has brought him titles such as “The Master of 2 Cords” or “The King of Chinese Erhu”.
Steve Smith, editor of “New York Times” Arts Page remarked, “Mr. Guo, a magnificent performer, shaped melodies with the expressive contours of vocal lines in Hua Yanjun’s ‘Moon reflected on the Er-Quan Spring’ and provided flourishes that might give a violinist pause during Huang Gaihuai’s ‘Horse Racing’.” Mark Swed, music critics for the Los Angles Times, also gives a high regard to Guo Gan’s performance with Lang Lang: “Guo was a wonder, his Erhu sweetly filling the air with an astonishing sweet and sumptuous sonic perfume, which Lang accompanied with exquisite sensitivity.”
Raising fund for IAMA to promote music education to the next generation
A major objective of this concert is to raise fund for IAMA(International Academy of Music and Arts), to support young people in their pursuit of a career in music, and to sponsor concerts and young enthusiasts for further training in traditional music, as well as commissioning professional music educators to Hong Kong to develop programmes in traditional music. In fact, young leaders from schools and leading representatives from the education and cultural circles are among the invited VIPs to this concert. Lunlun Zou said, “I always insist on promoting the long and splendid Chinese artistic achievements through training institutes, concerts, records and seminars to let young people learn more on cultures, regardless of if I am in Hong Kong or elsewhere.”
For more information on the concert, please call 2566 5968.