How the art of modern Chinese instrumental music performance developed along two tracks

The art of Chinese instrumental music performance in the 20th century has developed along two tracks. One is that under the new era

conditions, traditional national musical instruments, in order to adapt to the aesthetic needs of modern audiences, constantly reformed and innovated on the basis of inheriting the excellent national traditions, and gained

unprecedented development and progress. On the other hand, from the beginning of the 20th century, with the process of modernization of Chinese society and the introduction of Western music, all kinds of Western musical instruments and their performances, as well as all kinds of new forms of musical performances related to them, were introduced to China one after another, and

gradually developed and flourished. These two tracks have developed in parallel and synchronously, and in the process of development they have influenced and borrowed from each other,

intermingled and produced new types and forms of instrumental music performance.

(1) Reform of Chinese folk musical instruments and new development of performance art

The new development of modern Chinese folk musical instrument performance is firstly manifested in a series of reforms of some traditional folk musical instruments

Reforms, which have enlarged the range and volume of the musical instruments, added new performance techniques and strengthened the performance performance of the instruments. At the same time, some composers and performers continued to create new works for these reformed folk instruments, which greatly changed

the face of traditional folk instrument performance.

The erhu is a typical example of the new life and great development of modern Chinese folk instruments. The huqin (including the erhu) was originally a folk

instrument of many kinds, mainly used as an accompaniment to various kinds of operas and raps, and the reform and development of the huqin in the twentieth century was promoted by two outstanding national musicians: Ah Bing and Liu Tianhua (1985-1932). Since the establishment of China, there have been many excellent erhu works that have been popular among the masses, with a rich variety of subjects, genres and forms, and unprecedented enrichment and development of playing techniques. For example, "River Water" (transplanted by Huang Haihuai), "Variations on a Theme of Qinqiang" (arranged by Lu Rirong), "The Village Has Changed" (by Zeng Jiaqing), "Narrative of Northern Yu" (by Liu Wenjin), "Imagination of the Sanmenxia" (

Liu Wenjin), and "Horse Racing" (by Huang Haihuai, adapted by Shen Hequn), and so on, a number of large-scale erhu concertos have also appeared since 1970s

.

Since the 1970s, there have also been a number of large-scale Erhu Concerto works, such as Random Thoughts on the Great Wall (by Liu Wenjin), etc. In the twentieth century, after Ah Bing

and Liu Tianhua, there are mainly Jiang Fengzhi, Lu Xiutang, and Zhang Rui in the older generation. Nowadays, the famous erhu players active on the stage are Wang Guotong and Min Huifen, and the young players are Jiang Jianhua, Jiang Gumi, Song Fei, Yu Hongmei, Yan Jiemin, Wang Lili, and so on.

Additionally, in the huqin category, there are gaohu players such as Liu Tianyi and Yu Qiwei, and banhu players such as Liu Mingyuan and Zhang Changcheng.

The pipa is one of the more rapidly developing and influential plucked instruments. In recent times, there are many schools of pipa art. There are the Wuxi and Chongming schools of Jiangsu represented by Cao An

he (1905-), the Pudong school of Shanghai represented by Lin Shicheng (1922-), the Pudong school of Zhejiang represented by Cheng Wujia (1902-) and Yang Dajun (1913-1987), and the Pipa school of Zhejiang represented by Liu Mingyuan, Zhang Changcheng, etc.

Pipa is one of the fastest developing plucked instruments. -1987), the Pinghu School of Zhejiang, the Wang Yuting School of Shanghai, represented by Li Tingsong (1906-1976)

Sun Yude (1904-1981) and Wei Zhongle (1908), etc., have made great contributions to the inheritance and promotion of the

The pipa school, represented by Sun Yude (1904-1981) and Wei Zhongle (1908-), played an important role in the inheritance and promotion of the traditional pipa performing art. After the establishment of New China, the pipa art has made great progress again. In the form of pipa

some major reforms were carried out. For example, the grade of the pipa has been increased from four ten-pin items in the past to six twenty-five-pin items,

greatly expanding the range of the pipa and arranging the chromatic grades in accordance with the requirements of the twelve equal temperament laws, which makes it easier to play modern works with rich tonal variations; the use of steel wire strings and nylon strings with steel cords instead of silk strings in the past, which makes the sound of the pipa brighter and firmer;

the use of artificial fingernails (false nails) and the use of artificial nails (false fingernails) to make the pipa sound more bright and solid.

The use of artificial nails (false nails) instead of plectrums and real nails for playing makes the pipa more convenient and flexible to play, and so on.

At the same time, a number of excellent adaptations and compositions for the pipa appeared. Adaptations such as "Sing a Mountain Song to the Party" (Trample Ear, adapted by Wu

Junsheng), "Heroes Overcome the Dadu River" (Shilomong, adapted by Liu Dehai), and compositions such as "Yi Tribe Dance" (Wang Huiran), "The Five Strong Men of the Wolf's Teeth Mountain" (Lv Shao'en), and "Little Sisters of the Grassland Heroes" (Wu Zu

Qiang, Wang Yanqiao, Liu Dehai) were written for pipa. The Pipa Concerto "Little Sisters of the Grassland Heroes" (Wu Zuqiang, Wang Yanqiao, Liu Dehai), etc. At the same time, pipa, as an important specialty of performance teaching in music colleges and universities, has made great achievements in its teaching

and cultivated a large number of excellent pipa performance professionals. The best among them is Liu Dehai

(1937-). In addition, there are famous pipa players Wang Fanti, Xia Rengen, Tang Liangxing, Li Guangzu, and outstanding young

pipa players Wu Yuxia, Yang Jing, Liu Guilian, and Zhang Qiang.

The zheng is one of China's oldest traditional musical instruments, with a history dating back to the pre-Qin period. In recent times, the zheng is mainly used for rap

accompaniment and folk instrumental ensemble, and it has developed into a variety of genres, with representative zheng tunes mainly distributed in Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang,

Minan, Meixian of Guangdong, and Chaoshan, etc. The zheng tunes are mainly composed by Shandong qin, which is the most popular instrument in China. Shandong zheng tunes are mainly composed of Shandong qin tunes and Shandong qinshu singing tunes as well as folk tunes, and are divided into two kinds of zheng tunes: daban tunes and small zheng tunes. The main representatives are Zhao Yuzai and others. Henan zhengqu is basically developed on the basis of Henan Yu opera and

Henan dazhong quiz board head song, generally divided into two parts: small song and board head song. The main representatives are

Cao Zheng of Suiping, Cao Dongfu of Nanyang, and Ren Zhiqing of Xuchang. Wulin (the ancient name of Hangzhou) zheng music is popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, mainly

The main content of the zheng music is silk and bamboo music, board head music, string suites, as well as folk music and folk songs. The main representative is Wang

Xunzhi. Hakka zheng music is folk instrumental music circulating in the Hakka-speaking areas of Guangdong, also known as hanle zheng music, which has three major categories, namely, major tunes, string tunes, and minor

tunes, and is developed from Hakka music. The main representatives are Luo Jiuxiang and others. Chaozhou zheng tunes are folk instrumental tunes circulating in the Chaozhou language

system area of Guangdong, mainly in the Chaozhou and Shantou areas. The zheng music of the Shantou area is an important part of the Chaozhou stringed poetic music, which has a long history and a self-contained approach, and has a great influence at home and abroad. The main representatives are Guo Ying and others

. After the establishment of new China, the reform of zheng has made great achievements. The original silk strings were changed to steel wire strings or nylon wrapped strings. From thirteen

strings, fifteen strings and sixteen strings, the zheng developed into nineteen strings, twenty-one strings, twenty-five strings and twenty-six strings. The reformed zheng, with its enlarged range

, increased volume, and easy to transpose, enriches the artistic expression of the zheng, which is not only used for repertoire, accompaniment, and ensemble, but also often

used for solo performance. In the creation and adaptation of zheng music, following the "Night of the Fishing Boat" created by Lou Shuhua in the thirties and the "Lantern Festival" created by Cao

Dongfu in the forties, many excellent works have appeared in more than half a century. For example, "Celebrating a Bountiful Harvest" (by Zhao

Yuzai), "Battling Typhoon" (by Wang Changyuan), "Happy Drainage" (by Ren Zhiqing), "Fishing Song of the East China Sea" (by Zhang Yan)

and so on. Famous zheng players active on the music stage include Cao Dongfu, Cao Zheng, Zhao Yuzai, as well as middle-aged and young players such as Fan Shang'e,

Xiang Sihua, Wang Changyuan, Zhang Yan, Li Meng, Jiao Jinhai and Yuan Sha.

The yangqin, a stringed instrument, has been greatly developed in modern times.

The guqin, originally known as the zither and the seven-stringed zither, has gradually been called the guqin since the Tang and Song dynasties because of its long history. Since the establishment of New China, guqin music has been protected and rescued as an important musical heritage, and various genealogies scattered in the folklore have been collected, organized and published

. The old generation of zither players such as Guan Pinghu, Wu Jingliu, Cha Fuxi, Zhang Ziqian, Xia Yifeng, Yao Banyan, etc. composed and performed a number of excellent

traditional zither tunes, such as "Flowing Water," "Guangling San," "The Secret Orchid," "Three Plum Blossoms," "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun," and so on, which have made important contributions to the inheritance and development of the culture of the guqin.

The new China cultivated outstanding guqin performers who have made significant contributions to the preservation of guqin culture, as well as to the development of guqin culture. Excellent guqin players trained by New China include Li Xiangting, Gong Yi, Wu Wenguang, etc.

They have made innovations in repertoire and techniques on the basis of inheriting the excellent traditions, contributing to the survival and development of the guqin in the conditions of the new era.

These artists have made great contributions to the survival and development of the guqin in the new era.

In addition to the above, other ethnic stringed instruments that have made significant breakthroughs in the art of performance include: Wang Huiran's liuqin,

whose representative piece is "Spring to the River Yi"; Feng Shaoxian's yueqin, whose representative piece is "Songhua River Fisherman's Song"; and Wang Yi's sanxian, whose representative piece is "The Great Wave Amoying the Sand," and so on.

National wind instruments have also been developed in modern times. The flute and suona are two of the more widely circulated and influential ones.

In addition, the sheng, pipe and so on also have greater development.

The achievements of modern Chinese folk instrumental music are also highlighted in the development and creation of various forms of repertoire and ensemble.

China's traditional instrumental music ensembles are diverse and extremely rich. Especially since the establishment of New China, China's national instrumentalists

, conductors and composers, on the basis of traditional national instrumental ensembles, and at the same time, extensively study and learn from the Western repertoire

and orchestral ensembles, creatively carry out the combination of repertoire and ensembles of various national instruments. The China Radio National Orchestra, with Peng Xiuwen as its conductor and artistic director, is a representative of China's modern large-scale national orchestra construction. On the one hand, it

widely absorbed and accommodated all kinds of ethnic instruments, on the other hand, it referred to the arrangement of Western orchestras, and in accordance with the requirements of building a modern ethnic

orchestra, it reformed and reassembled many of the instruments and added bass instruments, so that the

vocal parts of the ethnic orchestra were balanced and their expressive power was improved. Famous national orchestras also include: the Central National Orchestra Orchestra Orchestra conducted by Qin Pengzhang and Yan Huichang, the Jinan Troop Avant-garde Song and Dance Orchestra Orchestra conducted by Zhang Shiye and Wang Huiran, and the Shanghai National Orchestra Orchestra Orchestra conducted by Qu Chunquan and Ma Shenglong. At the same time, various types of national repertoire art has been rapidly developed.

(2) The Rise and Development of Western Instrument Solo, Repertoire and Ensemble Art in China

Western musical instruments began to be introduced into China in the early 17th century, during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.1 However, the real application of Western musical

instruments to Chinese general music education and their influence on the public began only in the early 20th century. At the earliest

early on, with the introduction of school music songs, organs and a few pianos began to appear in some primary and secondary schools, as well as marching bands and drum corps

. A little later there was also the introduction of Western instruments such as the violin and accordion. In the 1920s and 1940s, the establishment and development of Chinese teacher training and music education

, especially professional music education, saw the hiring of a number of foreign musicians as professors, and the return of a small number of Chinese

music students to their home countries, whereupon specializations in western instruments such as the piano, the violin and the cello, as well as the trumpet and the flute, were established

, producing a number of Chinese students who could play western instruments.

The earliest batch of western musical instrument players in China were trained. Since the establishment of New China, the professional education system of various Western musical instruments

has been gradually completed, the education level has been improved, and some new professions have been opened, and some performers and educators have emerged in various fields of Western musical instruments.

Piano, violin, cello, trumpet, flute, and other Western musical instruments have been established.

The piano has been called the king of Western instruments. After hundreds of years of combining the instrument's repertoire with ensemble bands. The China Radio National Orchestra, with Peng Xiuwen as

conductor and artistic director, is a representative of China's modern large-scale national orchestra construction. Its efforts on the one hand

have trained a large number of professional piano professionals at an ever-increasing level, and at the same time it has made remarkable achievements in the popularization of the piano, with hundreds of thousands of piano children learning the piano at present. China's older generation of pianists, such as Li Cuizhen (1910-

1966), Yi Kaiji (1912-), Fan Jisen (1917-1967), Wu Leyi (1919-), Li Jialu (1919-), Li Jialu (1919-), and Li Jialu (1919-), have all made remarkable achievements in the popularization of the piano, with hundreds of thousands of children learning the piano.

1982), Zhu Gongyi (1922-1986), and Zhou Guangren (1928-) made significant contributions to the development of professional piano education in China and the training of

young pianists. After the establishment of New China, through the two ways of sending foreign students and improving the level of domestic professional music teaching

, the piano level in China has developed rapidly, and many pianists have won prizes one after another in international high-level piano competitions

. The first generation of outstanding pianists cultivated by New China can be cited as follows: Li Minqiang (1936-), Gu Shengying (1937-

1967), Liu Shikun (1939-), Yin Chengzong (1941-), Shi Shucheng (1946-) and others. -) and others. Since the reform and opening up,

with the frequent international exchanges and the improvement of China's piano education level, a large number of outstanding young piano players have emerged, who

are not only loved by the majority of the domestic music audience, but also famous in the international music scene. The best of them are: Kong Xiangdong, Xu Zhong

, Li Jian, Lang Lang, Li Yundi, Chen Sa and so on. At the same time, the creation of Chinese piano works has also achieved quite fruitful results

Since "Piccolo for Shepherd Boys" (composed by He Luting) in the 1930s, there have been successive works such as "Happy Holidays" (composed by Ding Shande

), "Beijing Wanhua Collection" (composed by Jiang Wenya), "Flower Drums" (composed by Qu Wei), "Temple Fairs" (composed by Jiang Zuxin)

, "Four Shanbei Folk Songs" (composed by Jiang Zuxin), and "Four Shanbei Folk Songs" (composed by Jiang Zuxin). Four Folk Songs of Northern Shaanxi" (composed by Wang Jianzhong), "Night of Torch Festival" (composed by Liao Shengjing), "Sunset Drums" (adapted by Lai

Yinghai), "Four Preludes" (composed by Chuwanghua) and other outstanding works came out. The piano concertos include Mountains and Forests

(composed by Liu Dunnan) and The Yellow River (arranged by Yin Chengzong).

The violin is a very expressive and widely used Western instrument, and it was also introduced to China very early, and has become a favorite instrument for the Chinese audience.

In China, among the old generation of violinists, the violin is the most popular instrument. Among the old generation of violinists in China, the most famous ones are Ma Sicong and Chen Yixin.

After the founding of New China, the level of violin education in China has improved significantly, and some people have gone abroad for further study, and a large number of outstanding

young violinists have emerged. The best of them are: Sheng China, Hu Kun, Lu Siqing, Xue Wei and so on. In the violin teaching

has made outstanding achievements, such as Lin Yaoji. At the same time, the creation of Chinese violin works has also gained fruitful results. Famous works include Suiyuan Suite, Tibetan Poem (composed by Ma Sicong), Xinjiang Spring (composed by Ma Yaozhong and

Li Zhonghan), New Spring Music (composed by Mao Yuan), Miaoling Morning (orchestrated by Chen Gang), and Sunshine on Tashkurgan (composed by Chen Gang), to name but a few. The violin concerto "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" (composed by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang) is a classic work of nationalization of violin compositions, which has been warmly welcomed by Chinese music listeners since its introduction in the 1960s

, has been performed for a long time, and has had a wide international influence.

The performance and teaching of other Western orchestral instruments have developed to varying degrees through the efforts of several generations.

In particular, since the establishment of New China, the construction and development of the Western orchestra has made remarkable achievements. In the first

half of the 20th century, only the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, established in 1936, could be considered a more complete orchestra, but its members

were mostly foreign musicians. Since the 1950s, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Beijing Central Orchestra, the Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra and the Film Orchestra have been established one after another, and symphony orchestras have also been set up in some big cities such as Guangzhou, Shenyang and Tianjin.

China's symphonic music career has been greatly developed, with an ever-expanding repertoire of music, especially in the performance of symphonies of the Western Classical School, Romantic School and

Folk music. Chinese composers have also made significant achievements in symphonic composition.

The most influential ones are Ma Sicong's "Song of the Forest", Ding Shande's "Long March" symphony, Zhu Trampel's "Symphony No.1

", and Chen Peixun's "Symphony No.2" ("Ritual of the Ching Ming Festival"), etc.

Conductors and conductors have also achieved great achievements in symphonic music.

Conducting is one of the fields in which China's modern music performing arts have made outstanding achievements. Since the establishment of the Peking University Music Mission Orchestra in the early 1920s, which was conducted by Xiao You

Mei, the important role of the art of conducting

has gradually been recognized by the people of China with the development of orchestral and choral music in China. Especially since the establishment of New China, the art of conducting in China has been greatly developed,

a large number of professional conductors have emerged, and the art of conducting in the fields of orchestral, choral and operatic music has made remarkable achievements. Conductors of the old generation have made great contributions to the development of China's conducting art and the cultivation of young conducting talents. Among them, Yang Jaren (1912-1966), Lai Kuo-tsuen (1914-1966), Ma Geshun (1914-), Huang Yijun (1915-)

Li Delun (1917-2001), Huang Feili (1917-2001), and Huang Feili (1917-2001) have made significant achievements in the field of conductor art in China. -2001), Huang Feili (1917-), Yan Liangkun (1924-), Zheng Xiaoying (1929-), Yang

Hongnian (1934-), Chen Xiyang (1939

Yang Hongnian (1934-), Chen Xiyang (1939-), etc. What is even more gratifying is that with the process of reform and opening up, in recent years

some of China's young conductors have risen to prominence on the international music stage and have achieved world-renowned success. The best of them are: Tang Mu Hai, Chen Zohuang, Hu Yongyan, etc.

These young conductors have made their mark on the international music scene.