Playing the "Prelude to Light" at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, this Chinese trumpet player residing in Europe solo | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Europe

On June 30th, trumpet performer Guo Xiang held a trumpet solo concert at the Buick Theater of the Shanghai Grand Theatre. He, who loves photography, named the performance "Prelude to Light".

Like his trumpet, Guo Xiang is a shining young man. Born in Qingdao, Shandong in 1994, he became a highly influential character in the European music scene at an early age. In 2015, at the age of 20, he obtained the position of lifelong trumpet deputy chief at the Finnish National Opera Orchestra. Starting from the 2022-2023 season, he joined the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra as the lifelong trumpet chief, hoping to play more symphonic pieces.

In May, major symphony orchestras in Europe began their regular summer break. After wandering around Europe with his parents, Guo Xiang returned to China and began his long planned tour. Going home and diving for a month, practicing hard every day, and officially leaving the customs at the end of June, Shanghai is the first stop. For him, Shanghai is also an extremely important stop: many performers and friends in the domestic classical music industry live in Shanghai, and for solo performances of obscure instruments such as trumpet, there are also many enthusiasts in Shanghai who come to watch and support.

That night during the performance, he teamed up with his friend, young pianist Jung Yi Wu, to bring 9 tracks. Nearly two hours of performance, from film soundtrack to Albert Ginova's "Prelude to Light" four pieces, and then to Tchaikovsky... From the diverse variety of repertoire, it seems that this gentle young man has a certain enthusiastic expectation: seize any opportunity of a solo concert, let more people see the richness of the trumpet's tone changes and the possibility of performance, so as to make more people understand and even like the trumpet.

Speaking of which, Guo Xiang is a person who doesn't like to get tangled up. Leaving the big city of Helsinki in Finland and arriving in the small town of Tampere, which has only 190000 people, he felt quite at ease.

Usually, he would go to the forest cabin of the art director with his band's friends to have meals and admire the beautiful scenery by the lake in Tampere; During holidays, he would carry a camera on his back and fly to Paris to see the Pompidou Museum of Art; Or go to Berlin and schedule a concert with the South Korean girl group Black Pink, along with the Chinese musician who also resides in Europe and the viola chief of Berlin Philharmonic, Mediyan

Life may seem beautiful and peaceful, but he rarely mentions it. From the day he learned the trumpet until now, he has spent most of his life practicing the piano for four hours every day, which is tedious and arduous.

In the highly skilled European band, he won the grand prize in his youth and secured a lifetime seat in a first-class band. Before the start of the "Prelude to Light", the reporter had a conversation with Guo Xiang.

Why did you switch from the Finnish National Opera Orchestra to the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra?

Guo Xiang: The Finnish National Opera Orchestra and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra are both top-notch orchestras in Europe, and I have had a great time working for both orchestras. The main reason for making such a choice is due to a professional bias.

The Finnish National Opera Orchestra mainly performs operas and ballet, while Tampere Philharmonic performs more symphonic music. I still yearn to play more symphonies in my heart, and I want to be exposed to more band works at this stage.

Although I love opera very much, opera seasons usually continue to play the same work for a longer period of time. The Finnish National Opera House performs approximately 16 plays per season, with 6-12 performances per play. I prefer to challenge myself, keep the music fresh, and constantly try to perform new works.

Watch the news: How difficult is it to get into a top band in Europe?

Guo Xiang: During the team examination process, interviewees will be required to perform works by different composers in one round of the exam, and may even be required to play trumpets with different tones and styles, which is very challenging. I even think that from a certain perspective, taking the college entrance exam is more difficult than competing. To achieve the conversion of different trumpet and track styles in a short period of time, this itself greatly tests the performer's ability. Compared to competitions, exam teams also need longer time to prepare to cope with complex exams, and the pressure will be more concentrated.

Looking at the news: What impressed me the most during the college entrance examination process?

Guo Xiang: Once the band notified that the exam would be divided into two days, with two rounds on the first day. After two rounds, everyone thought it was over, and several trumpeters had already started drinking beer to celebrate. After drinking one round, the staff suddenly came over and said that there was a third round of exams ahead, and everyone was surprised. But these two trumpet players both advanced to the next day's exam in the end, very impressive and lucky. The rules of the exam always bring surprises and surprises.

Looking at the news: What are the similarities and differences in the concepts of these two bands?

Guo Xiang: They have high requirements for musicians' personal music techniques and team collaboration abilities. I have served as an examiner for both bands I work for, and have also interviewed some very outstanding and distinctive performers. However, their voices are difficult to integrate with the band and are not suitable for entering the band, so they can only be eliminated in the first round.

In addition to the different themes of the performances, the two bands also have different requirements for sound. The Finnish National Opera House is relatively free, focusing on whether you are a good musician and whether you have the ability to interpret different music styles.

The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra has a higher requirement for sound uniformity. Because suitable chief personnel have not been recruited, their position has been vacant for many years. In terms of timbre, the voice of the Finnish National Opera House is more stable and sophisticated, while Tampere is more energetic and creative. If one word is used to describe the voice of a Finnish band in the past, it may be "bright". Relatively speaking, their tone tends to lean towards the style of Russian bands. In terms of alcohol, Russia is more like vodka, while Finland is a slightly lower alcohol vodka with a fruity flavor.

The Finnish band is relatively simple on the outside and powerful on the inside. However, from a trend perspective, the styles of European orchestras nowadays are tending towards uniformity, deeply influenced by the German band's preference for "warm" tones, especially in brass instruments. It is very interesting that almost all of Finland's important brass bands are now "ruled" by performers from countries outside of Finland.

Looking at the news: From Helsinki to Tampere, have you adapted to life?

Guo Xiang: Maybe I have strong adaptability and don't have any special feeling of needing to adapt. These two cities have similar areas, but their lifestyles and styles are completely different. Helsinki is the capital of Finland, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and is known as the "daughter of the Baltic Sea". The pace of life is relatively faster, the population is also dense, it will be more lively, and the cultural landscape will be more diverse.

Tampere is a lake port city in southwestern Finland, and perhaps many people are not familiar with this city. It is a very beautiful city with particularly beautiful natural scenery. I enjoy getting close to nature and often travel. The pace of life here is relatively slow, allowing me more time to experience the local customs and atmosphere of the city. It also gives me more time to think and reflect, which is beneficial for the growth of artists.

Looking at the news: Finland seems to be very friendly towards young artists and places great emphasis on supporting and nurturing this group. What kind of education system are they actually?

Guo Xiang: Finland attaches great importance to education and invests a large proportion in art education. There are many professional music schools, and Helsinki alone has four or five public music schools. Compared to its population base of 650000, this proportion is quite high.

In addition, ticket sales for performances offer significant discounts to students, and sometimes even allow free observation of professional band rehearsals. When I was studying, I often listened to rehearsals by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and gained a lot of experience just by observing.

It is worth mentioning that there is a special system in the Sibelius Conservatory of Music called the Conducting Orchestra, which is funded by the government or the school to invite students to participate in the formation of the orchestra. Students from the school's conductor department can come to practice band directing, arrange fixed rehearsals and concerts. This kind of opportunity is very rare even in European countries, and it is precisely because of this mechanism that Finland has cultivated many excellent conductors.

Looking at the news: Tampere's life seems very Buddhist, will there be plans to enter the world-renowned German and Austrian teams in the future? At your current level, it seems that this demand is getting higher and higher.

Guo Xiang: That will definitely happen. I have also read books in Germany, so I have a relatively intuitive understanding of the music system and lifestyle there. Now is the opportunity, I believe there will be opportunities in the future. In fact, this is also the reason for going to Tampere to love music. As mentioned earlier, maintaining the number of repertoire and the ability to change performance techniques will have a very intuitive impact on the development of a musician.