Chinese horn ensemble shares universal language of music

KRAKOW, Poland — As the final notes faded through the concert hall in Krakow, Poland, the audience rose in sustained applause, celebrating a performance that brought together European classics and Chinese melodies through the rich sound of the horn.

For the China Horn Ensemble, the concert marked more than the end of a performance. On July 7, it debuted at the opening concert of the 58th International Horn Symposium, the world's leading gathering of horn performers and educators.

Performing before an audience of leading figures in the international horn community, the ensemble moved seamlessly between works by Johann Strauss II, Giacomo Puccini and Pietro Mascagni and Chinese classics including the Butterfly Lovers Fantasy and Dance of the Yao Ethnic Group.

One of the evening's highlights was a jazz-inspired rendition of the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower. As its familiar pentatonic melody unfolded over lively rhythms, audience members standing in the aisles began to smile and sway with the music.

Among the audience sat one of the horn world's most respected figures, Randall Faust, whose opinion carries considerable weight in the international horn community.

When the final note faded, Faust turned to Peter Luff, president of the International Horn Society, and quietly said, "I want to hear it again."

Luff knew exactly how much those words meant. Faust, he said, was known for his exacting standards and was not one to offer praise lightly.

"If he doesn't like it, he'll say it. He loved it," said Luff.

If Faust's words carried special weight, the prolonged standing ovation from the audience left an equally strong impression on Luff.

"That reaction is very unusual at an academic symposium like this," Luff said, noting that the Chinese musicians offered "a distinctly Eastern musical character and a completely fresh artistic interpretation".

Will Sanders, professor of horn at the Karlsruhe University of Music in Germany, shared a similar impression.

"The intonation and harmony are excellent, and the program is so interesting because it connects us with the Chinese way of feeling and expressing music," he said.

In addition, at the Academy of Music's classrooms in Krakow, Chinese musicians led master classes specially organized for students attending the symposium.

The exchanges focused not on dazzling techniques, but on musical details — where a phrase begins to breathe, how a musical sentence finds direction, and how technical accuracy can become expression.

Stephen Spacek, a student from Texas, the United States, said the classes left a lasting impression.

"I hope to become a horn educator like the Chinese teachers," he said. "They don't just perform beautifully. Their teaching, musical judgment and stage experience make them role models."

For Wojciech Kamionka, organizer of this year's symposium, inviting the Chinese ensemble was an easy decision.

He recalled visiting a summer music camp in Qingdao, Shandong province, years ago, where hundreds of Chinese students studied alongside dozens of teachers.

"That was when I realized this wasn't about one or two gifted musicians," he said. "More Chinese horn players are entering major orchestras and conservatories worldwide. China's visibility in this field is growing."

Luff has witnessed the same trend. He believes China's growing presence in the international horn community is no longer defined solely by exceptional soloists, but increasingly by ensembles performing at the highest level.

"When I first heard orchestras in Shenzhen (Guangdong province) and Beijing, I realized I was listening to world-class musicians," Luff said. "Now it's time for China to take its place on the world's concert stage in a big way."

In the eyes of Kamionka, the symposium reveals music's greatest strength.

"It doesn't matter whether the music comes from the East or the West — it all comes together, and actually, the beauty of the sound, of the instrument, is universal," he said.

XINHUA