Pipa player Zhao Cong comes to Shanghai: Let music travel through ancient and modern times
On June 8, pipa player and head of the China National Traditional Orchestra Zhao Cong will perform "The Most Beautiful Time - Special Concert of Zhao Cong and Her Friends" at the Poly Shanghai City Theater.
Zhao Cong is the youngest female leader of the China National Traditional Orchestra since its establishment, and is also the chief pipa player of the orchestra. She has been committed to promoting the art of pipa and promoting Chinese national music for many years. She has participated in important events such as the 2016 G20 Summit "Most Remembered in Hangzhou" concert and the 2024 special concert for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, showing the charm of Chinese music to the world.
In this concert, Zhao Cong will join hands with pianist and professor of the Piano Department of the Central Conservatory of Music Liu Xingchen and the Magic Cube String Ensemble to perform many classic pieces. The pipa will be the protagonist, and piano, violin, viola and cello will be invited to bring a fusion of Chinese and Western music.
The familiar "Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night" is presented by pipa and piano together, and the artistic conception is even more powerful; the newly arranged "Butterfly Lovers", pipa, piano and string quartet are intertwined, losing the sadness of the original version and adding a sense of warmth; integrated The electronic beats "Bloom" and "Rose Tango" are full of movement and make people want to dance to the music.
In February this year, at the Concert Hall in Dusseldorf, Germany, Zhao Cong, director of the China National Traditional Orchestra, and the orchestra took the stage. Photographed by reporter Zhang Fan
Speaking of pipa, many people will think of "Dunhuang Feitian". Dunhuang's cultural city logo is a freehand image of a "rebounding pipa" dancer. In the Dunhuang murals, a dancer from the Kingdom of Heaven wears a high bun with her pipa behind her head. She holds her arms diagonally above her head and dances with her feet. His eyes were slightly lowered, with a calm expression. However, due to the weight of the pipa itself and the limitations of the player's ability, it is difficult to "rebound the pipa" in the true sense.
Zhao Cong contacted Shanghai Dunhuang National Musical Instrument Factory No. 1 and made four pipa based on the restoration of Dunhuang murals, constantly improving the timbre, shape, appearance, size and weight; and in the ingenious design of the costume designer, he found a fulcrum to rebound and overcome the impossible. It becomes possible step by step, and the final skill amazes everyone.
Seeing that violins can be made of transparent crystal, Zhao Cong set out to create a crystal pipa. The stylish coat makes the ancient instrument shine. Zhao Cong also invented the "backpack pipa", which changed the style of playing the pipa while sitting upright, and won a national patent.
Travel through the past and present in a snap of your fingers. In the three years since he took office as the director of the China National Traditional Orchestra, Zhao Cong has remained consistent in his artistic philosophy from artist to manager.
"Flying Silk Road" is Zhao Cong's masterpiece. In 2014, she began to compose "Silk Road Flying Sky". In addition to using classic fingering melody, she also innovated playing techniques and explored and experimented with harmonic structure and rhythm.
"The Most Beautiful Time - Special Concert of Zhao Cong and Her Friends"
The Rubik's Cube String Ensemble that will appear at the concert was founded by Zhao Cong in 2006. Why is it named "Rubik's Cube"? Zhao Cong said: "Taking its unpredictable yet harmonious and unified meaning." The members of the Rubik's Cube String Quartet are all young. The first violinist Li Bingyang, the second violinist Liu Yangdongsheng, the viola Li Bingxi, and the cello He Fei, they are the music Will inject youthful vitality.
Zhao Cong hopes that the power of music can be used to pay tribute to history, intertwining the romance of thousands of years ago with the fashion of thousands of years later, so that Chinese people can feel the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese music.
