Beijing, January 12 (Reporter Gao Kai) – After nearly two years of submissions, preliminary evaluations, performances, and final evaluations, the eighth phase of the National Centre for the Performing Arts' Young Composers Program (hereinafter referred to as the "Young Composers Program") recently concluded with its final evaluation concert.
The final concert was conducted by Huang Yi, featuring the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra and four young erhu players. A judging panel comprised of eight renowned composers, music directors, and principals from orchestras and music institutions in China, France, Finland, Russia, and other countries—Lü Jia, Qin Wenchen, Lin Daye, Eric Motalbaiti, Magnus Lindbergh, Pierre Chavet, Stanislav Kochanovsky, and Pascal Roflüt—along with seven folk music experts—including erhu players Yu Hongmei, Song Fei, Yan Jiemin, Ma Xianghua, and Duan Aiai, dizi player Zhang Weiliang, and guzheng player Chang Jing, completed their scoring and evaluation at the concert. Chen Qigang, the chief judge of the "Young Composers Project," who was unable to attend in person due to health reasons, listened to the performances and reviewed the scores online, providing scores for each piece.
Ultimately, the top three winners of this year's Young Composers Program were announced: first place went to Feng Zihui for "The Crying and Laughing Bird"; second place to Alatanmouni for "Remembering the Snowfield"; and third place to Yu Zhongyuan for "The Web of the Mortal World". In addition, Gao Bai, who performed the erhu solo in "The Crying and Laughing Bird" and "Traveling with Zizhan", won the "Most Popular Solo Performance" award voted by the musicians of the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra. "The Web of the Mortal World" also won the "Most Popular Work among the Folk Music Judges" award, voted by seven folk music judges.
In 2011, the National Centre for the Performing Arts launched the "Young Composers Project," a public welfare arts project. Over the past 15 years, it has attracted 550 composers from home and abroad, collected more than 600 works, provided professional orchestra performance opportunities for more than 80 outstanding works, and allowed more than 100,000 audience members to hear the new sounds of Chinese symphony live.
The eighth phase of the "Young Composers Project" continues its focus on concertos for Chinese bowed string instruments and orchestras, soliciting submissions from young Chinese composers worldwide for concertos for Chinese bowed string instruments (erhu, zhonghu, gaohu, banhu, and jinghu) and orchestras. Since its launch in May 2024, a total of 62 works have been received. In terms of subject matter, this phase of composers shows a clear tendency to delve into the core of Chinese local culture, with works originating from classical Chinese literature and poetry, history, local culture, and ethnic customs accounting for more than three-quarters.
The final concert. Photo courtesy of the National Centre for the Performing Arts.The final concert featured five concertos for erhu and orchestra, each with diverse themes and styles. They were rooted in the rich soil of Chinese culture while showcasing cutting-edge international compositional techniques, achieving an organic fusion of Chinese and Western musical languages.
Li Ziao, a master's student in composition at the Central Conservatory of Music, created "Yun Shen" (韵神), which uses the Hunan dialect word "Yun Shen" (运神) as a starting point to explore the creation of erhu playing techniques and intonation, exaggerating and dramatizing Hunan folk music materials.
"The Web of the Mortal World" by Yu Zhongyuan, a PhD in Composition from the Central Conservatory of Music, uses the melody and notes of the erhu to depict the winding journey of life in the mortal world.
"The Crying and Laughing Bird," composed by Feng Zihui, a master's student in composition at the Central Conservatory of Music, is based on a poem of the same name by Mei Yaochen, a poet from the Northern Song Dynasty. It depicts the chaos and indescribable essence of life in human emotions.
Pu Tian, a Master of Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music, wrote "Traveling with Zizhan" to depict Su Dongpo's carefree life and embark on a spiritual journey across time and space.
Alatan Muni, a student majoring in composition and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, created the work "Remembering the Snowfield," which uses the constant repetition and variation of syncopated motifs to create a vivid and evocative musical imagery.
The National Centre for the Performing Arts' "Young Composers Program" has not only nurtured new creative voices and supported the development of young Chinese composers and the Chinese music industry, but it is also considered to have witnessed the growth of young Chinese soloists and promoted the development of Chinese folk instrumental music.
Composer Magnus Lindbergh, who has served as a judge for the "Young Composers Project" multiple times, said, "Over the years, I have seen a very promising change in young Chinese composers. They are more courageous in adhering to and showcasing their own compositional styles, drawing musical materials from both the East and the West, and the integration of the two has made significant progress." (End)
