He/Chen: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto - Wei Lin скачать в хорошем качестве

He/Chen: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto - Wei Lin

DMA1 Recital 10.27.2020 Program note: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto was written in 1958-59 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang while they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory. First performed by Yu Lina in May 27th, 1959, this piece captivated all audiences and was performed twice in full at its premier due to its popularity. The Butterfly Lovers Concerto is a one-movement concerto, but can be split into three sections: Falling in Love (exposition), Refusing to Marry (development) and Transforming into a Butterfly (recapitulation). The melodies and overall style of this work are adapted from traditional Chinese Opera –Yue Opera. The solo violin countless slides in this piece, recalling the playing technique of Chinese fiddle – Erhu. The story of the Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese folktale, sometimes referred to as the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. It tells the love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Zhu and Liang went school together. Zhu disguised as a boy, since girls were not allowed to go to school in ancient times. They had a good time together and became sworn brothers, until Zhu was compelled to return home. This forms the exposition of a tripartite sonata-form concerto. In the development, Liang decides to visit Zhu and discovers that Zhu is a girl. Liang soon develops feelings for his former companion and thus proposes a marriage to Zhu. However, Zhu’s father has already arranged a marriage for Zhu without her permission, and the wedding is coming soon. She gets into a huge fight with her father because of her reluctance. Even though Zhu’s heart is taken by Liang already, the arranged marriage cannot be cancelled. There is a tender duet in the piece between violin and piano -- it is a dialogue between Liang and Zhu, saying how much they miss and love each other, and how miserable they are because of the looming marriage. Liang becomes depressed and dies, the victim of despair. On the way to the wedding, Zhu stops at Liang’s tomb. A bolt of lightning struck down, the tomb bursts open and Zhu leaps into Liang’s tomb. In the final section of the concerto, the love theme reappears. Liang and Zhu metamorphose as a pair of butterflies, flying together out of the tomb, allowing them to finally be together.