Ravinia 2019, Issue 6, Week 12

16 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 25, 2019 Above: Yu previously appeared at Ravinia in 2007 with Lang Lang, together performing the Yellow River Piano Concerto by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Left: Alisa Weilerstein returns to Ravinia with the Yu and the Shanghai Symphony for one of her signature solos, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, having most recently taken the festival’s stage for Elgar’s concerto with the CSO. Both are works that are featured in her acclaimed Decca discography. chops to offer and is closest in terms of understanding the Western styles very comfortably.” In 2014, the Shanghai Symphony joined forces with the New York Phil- harmonic and Shanghai Conservatory to form the Shanghai Orchestra Acade- my, a two-year, post-graduate program for advanced orchestral training. As part of the joint initiative, the New York Phil- harmonic makes regular appearances in Shanghai and some of its musicians travel to the city four times a year for master classes and other instruction. • • • • • A further sign of the Shanghai Symphony’s growing stature, Deutsche Grammophon signed the orchestra to a contract last year—the label’s first with a Chinese orchestra. In January, the orchestra released a live recording of a concert at the Imperi- al Ancestral Temple outside Beijing’s Forbidden City, and on June 28 came its first studio recording on the label. The latter release, titled Gateways , com- bines selections by Fritz Kreisler and Serge Rachmaninoff with two works by Qigang Chen, a Chinese-born composer who was Olivier Messiaen’s final student in 1984–88. Chen has lived in France since, becoming a citizen of that country in 1992. Included on the album is Chen’s orchestral suite Wu Xing ( The Five Ele- ments ) and his 2017 violin concerto La joie de la souffrance ( The Joy of Suffer- ing ), which features famed soloist Max- im Vengerov, for whom the piece was written. Music critic Richard Fairman wrote in the Financial Times that the concerto “has a distinctly French feel to it (Chen studied with Messiaen) togeth- er with a piquant touch of the exotic.” The orchestra’s upcoming world tour will include performances of two works from that album—Rachmaninoff ’s Sym- phonic Dances and Chen’s The Five Ele- ments , a piece that refers to the ancient Chinese philosophical belief the world was composed of five core elements: wa- ter, wood, metal, fire, and earth. “I really wanted to have the chance to introduce people to Chinese thought,” Yu says, “and also to how Chinese contemporary composers contribute to our musical order and bring the cultures together.” Also on the Ravinia program will be Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, with Weilerstein as soloist. “I think Shanghai deserves a world-recognized orchestra,” says Yu, a Shanghai native who grew up during the Cultural Revolution. “It’s really a delight of the city. I’m very proud not only for myself but also for all the musicians who really worked with me. That’s an incredi- ble achievement.” China, especially with the coun- try’s growing number of orchestras, is becoming a significant factor in the international classical scene and one to which Slatkin believes the West needs to pay more attention. “The Chinese are finding their way,” he says. “We’re seeing a lot of creative activity now. Chinese composers are becoming more popu- lar and better known and are trying to integrate Western styles into their own cultural styles.” But as its anniversary world tour is designed to make clear, few if any of the country’s classical institutions has soared higher than the 140-year-old Shanghai Symphony. “It’s an important force,” Slatkin says, “and it’s gaining in stature.” Kyle MacMillan served as classical music critic for the Denver Post from 2000 through 2011. He currently freelances in Chicago, writing for such publications and websites as the Chicago Sun-Times , Wall Street Journal , Opera News , and Classical Voice of North America . RUSSELL JENKINS/RAVINIA (YU); PATRICK GIPSON/RAVINIA (WEILERSTEIN)