Our reporter Gao Qian
In the first half, an excerpt from Ettore Villa-Lobos' "String Quartet No. 5" opened the concert with an elegant tone.
With a light aftertaste, Yang Xuefei in a red dress appeared.
In Ettore Villa-Lobos's "Sad Melody" and Egberto Gismonti's "Water and Wine" and other works, her guitar is constantly combined with the big, medium and violin, which is delicate and long; In the second half, percussion and double bass replaced the string quartet, and Yang Xuefei changed into a blue skirt.
From "Carnival Morning" to "The Girl from Ibanima" to "Tender Rain" and "The Empty City", Luis Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobin, Baden Powell and other Brazilian The melody of the musicians was staged one after another, the guitar became the real protagonist, and the soul of the "cultural melting pot" Brazil danced freely and enthusiastically on the strings...
From February 23rd to 24th, classical guitarist Yang Xuefei and the National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra presented two "Samba Memories" concerts.
Two halves, between classical and popular, between orthodox red and swaying blue, Yang Xuefei's guitar is the main line full of tension and imagination.
Walking alone is the normal state of the music road
At 6:00 p.m., when the performance was about to begin, Yang Xuefei's thin and quick figure "flashed" into the dressing room in the labyrinthine backstage area of the National Center for the Performing Arts, without an assistant following her.
Walking alone is a state that often appears in her life.
At the age of 13, Yang Xuefei gave up the key middle school and was admitted to the middle school attached to the Central Conservatory of Music.
Before her, the school had never recruited students majoring in "classical guitar", so Yang Xuefei could only enroll as an unofficial student.
"It was Guitar who chose me." Yang Xuefei often said that this was a "beautiful fate".
During her childhood, choirs, large and small, abounded, but the wave of learning an instrument was just emerging.
The accordion can be carried on the back, the price is not high, and it is very suitable for chorus accompaniment, so it has become the first choice of many piano children.
The parents also want the mischievous Yang Xuefei to learn the accordion and take care of her.
But the accordion was too heavy, and the young Yang Xuefei was too small. At the suggestion of her music teacher, she tried to pick up the guitar.
Yang Xuefei's music journey has always been a little "lonely".
When I first came to the attached middle school, even the teachers and classmates who majored in music didn't know that there was such a thing as "classical guitar".
For a long time, Yang Xuefei did not have a good guitar, until 1995, the guitar master John Williams who toured in China generously donated his own guitar.
Yang Xuefei also heard about the comments that the instrument in her hand was "not advanced enough" in the school of music.
But in fact, it is not easy to learn classical guitar. Compared with the accompaniment guitar seen when playing and singing songs, it uses nylon strings instead of steel strings. They are also classics left by generations of composers, so the techniques are quite "precise" and complicated, why not "advanced"?
"I hope to prove it to everyone." Yang Xuefei held back her energy.
In 2000, when she graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, she received the first bachelor's degree in guitar in the country.
Subsequently, Yang Xuefei went to the Royal Academy of Music in London for further studies. Among the students of that class, she was the only one who entered with a full scholarship.
When she graduated, she won the only "Dean's Award" that year.
One of the "Top 6 Classical Guitar Players in the World" selected by BBC Music Magazine, and one of the "100 Best Musicians" in the world by the authoritative British radio station Classic FM... Yang Xuefei has many such glittering titles, many of them They all use words such as "only" and "only" to highlight her identity as a classical guitar player.
These words, which are intended to describe the scarcity, reveal exactly the situation of the classical guitar.
When she was studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Yang Xuefei had only 7 classmates. Because the number was too small, they could not even form a truly independent "department".
Demonstrating the inclusivity of classical guitar
The niche of classical guitar is largely related to the lack of representative repertoire.
There are countless classic works for violin and piano. Even those who don't care about music will have heard of the "Blessed Lovers" Violin Concerto and "Yellow River" Piano Concerto.
But apart from fairly experienced music fans, few people know which melody is specially made for classical guitar.
As a Western plucked string instrument, the history of classical guitar can be traced back very early.
"During the classical and romantic periods, many composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms wrote a large number of classic repertoires for instruments such as the violin. After the era of the symphony came, the performance venue became larger, but the sound of the guitar was too small .” Yang Xuefei explained.
In the era of rapid development of symphony, the guitar was once bleak until entering the 20th century. With the continuous emergence of modern and contemporary works, the guitar regained its brilliance.
"It can be said that the guitar has entered a golden age again, but many works still need to be further promoted." Yang Xuefei said, "Many audiences have not yet fully understood the guitar, and they don't know that it can make such rich music. As long as they have the opportunity to hear it, I'm sure everyone will like it."
The "Once Upon a Time in Samba" concert is dedicated to showing the many possibilities of the classical guitar.
Brazilian music is gorgeous and diverse, and the guitar is the most eye-catching brilliance. In this set of repertoire, Yang Xuefei's guitar can be used to the fullest. "It can be played solo or accompanied by accompaniment. In addition to classical repertoire, Latin style and jazz style can also be played. The advantage of classical guitar is that Its sound is very beautiful, with many changes, and I hope that the audience can feel that this is a very inclusive instrument."
Conveying more Chinese voices in the performance
While playing western works, Yang Xuefei is also trying to leave more Chinese imprints on the guitar.
In 1999, she moved "Yi Nationality Dance" to the guitar strings, which was the first Chinese piece she adapted.
Yang Xuefei lives in London. People from all over the world gather in this metropolis, where cultures collide and blend.
She can more and more feel the impulse in her veins, "I long to play music from my own culture."
In 2020, Yang Xuefei released the album "Sketch of China". The selections are all Chinese works, spanning more than 2,000 years from "Hujia" in the late Han Dynasty to contemporary popular songs.
In the album, her performance is often reminiscent of people. "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms" sounds like a guqin, "Moonlight Night on the Spring River" sounds like a pipa, "Sword" and "A Lovely Rose" each have Liuqin and Dombra. verve.
These "illusions" were intentionally created by Yang Xuefei, and almost all plucked string instruments were subtly imitated and paid tribute to in "Sketch of China".
"I will imagine their sounds, and then use the guitar to explore." Yang Xuefei said, "The classical guitar can play anything." This spirit of exploration has always continued at her fingertips.
At the end of 2022, Yang Xuefei released a new album "Guitar Love", in which "Xinjiang Fantasia" realized her wish to compose.
Xinjiang culture has always fascinated Yang Xuefei. Four Xinjiang folk songs are quoted in "Xinjiang Fantasia".
"In the past, when I first entered the Conservatory of Music, I was surrounded by students who were learning piano, violin or vocal music. Compared with that, the guitar was not so brilliant." The young Yang Xuefei did have doubts and discouraged, "But now, I accept everything about it very much. Every musical instrument is not perfect, just like a piano, it is not perfect, it is not as delicate as a string, and it cannot be carried around.” After reconciling with her inner struggle, Yang Xuefei wanted to put The limited energy is used to do more meaningful things, "Overall, the guitar is still a very beautiful instrument, very friendly and social."
Giving full play to the advantages of the guitar and using a common musical language to bridge the communication between Eastern and Western cultures is Yang Xuefei's sense of responsibility that she cannot give up as a Chinese musician.
For example, a passionate Spanish strumming brought out the magnificent "burning" of the symphony orchestra version of "Yao Nationality Dance Music", "Maybe through a piece of music, they will be more willing to understand our poems or history, and willing to understand China in a comprehensive way." , that’s the little contribution I want to make.”
("Beijing Daily", page 8, February 27, 2023)