'Orion' trains its musical bow on Shanghai

Seven music teachers from Fort Worth, Texas will give a chamber concert at Shanghai Concert Hall this evening highlighted by a piece named after the most famous hunter in Greek mythology.

The artists, all faculty members of the music school of the Texas Christian University (TCU), will play classic quartet and quintet pieces by Brahms and Schubert, as well as new adaptations of an old Shanghai song.

They will also deliver the world premiere of "Orion". Written by their colleague Till Maclvor Meyn, it depicts the composer's impression of a modern metropolis and will serve as a special tribute to the 2010 World Expo. A pre-concert rendition of one of the movements showed three artists on clarinet, viola and piano using tango and jazz elements to paint an acoustic image of busy urban life.

Prof Lu Yuanxiong, who teaches double bass at TCU, helped to organize the university's China tour.

"I chose the Chinese song Four Seasons for the concert because I wanted to show my gratitude for Shanghai, which is my hometown, as well as for the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, which is my alma mater," he said.

Lu's two years with the school have already paid dividends in terms of raising its profile, according to Dr Richard Gibson, director of TCU's music school.

"When word spread that we would be giving a concert in Shanghai, we received invitations for two more concerts in Beijing and Shenyang, so now we're doing a mini-tour," he said.

For many of the musicians, it marks their first visit to China, but not for pianist John Owings. When Owings performed in Shanghai 18 years ago there were "more bicycles than people", he said, adding that the city now "looks like a different planet."

Gibson said it was a pleasure to be in a position to educate China about the existence of America's so-called piano town.

"Fort Worth is the 18th largest city in the United States. Together with Dallas, we make up the most densely populated area in the country," he said. "We are known as America's piano town because Fort Worth hosts one of the most privileged piano competitions in the world, named after Van Cliburn, a famous pianist since the 1950s."

TCU has recruited many award-winning instrumentalists to teach at its school. Of its 300 students, the largest international group hails from China.

"Chinese students are very well trained from an early age, and they are incredibly disciplined," said Owings. He described the ongoing influx of skilled pianists into America as a positive trend, especially in light of how easily the Chinese absorb the local culture.

"I have great expectations of China's 25 million piano students," Owings added.

Dec 19, 7:30 pm

Shanghai Concert Hall

570 Yan'an Road E.

延安东路570号

Tel: 6386-2836

Tickets: 60-200 yuan

Zhang Kun

(China Daily 12/19/2009 page14)