Source: CCTV.com

08-30-2008 11:17

May First, the National Ballet Troupe debuted its new work, "Peony Pavilion". Renowned composer Guo Wenjing wrote the music. The company commissioned the work, believing Guo could add new vitality to the ancient Chinese classic. Guo Wenjing has also earned praise from foreign critics. He has earned his acclaim whilst remaining in China and unlike many other successful composers, he has not lived many years abroad.

"I heard the recording. You played that beautifully. That's the sound I really want to hear."

Before the show, Guo Wenjing and the orchestra went through a final rehearsal.

The ballet "Peony Pavilion" is a new work for the National Ballet Troupe. Guo Wenjing wrote the score to give the music for the ancient Chinese classic, a modern quality.

Student,said,Guo's work always exceeds my expectations, from the time I first became acquainted with it. He has a piece called "trio for three pairs of cymbals". When I first heard it, I asked myself how would I write a piece for three pairs of cymbals? I had no idea. But his piece was wonderful! -- completely unexpected. He has three sets of cymbals generate this wide range of tones and created a very long piece with them. Perfect.

This is "She Huo", written by Guo Wenjing in 1991. The piece caused a sensation at the Holland Music Festival. Critics called it rather barbaric, saying it transformed the Amsterdam Orchestra that performed it into a rural band.

Guo WenJing,Composer,said,"People think my music rude, dramatic, dark,tragic, even barbaric. They say it has tension. I was born in Sichuan, in Chongqing and grew up in mountainous areas by the Yangtze river. But now I think even if I were born in the refined cities of east China,Suzhou, Yangzhou and Shanghai, my music would still be like this. I think the style of one's music comes from his character and his blood."

In 1994, Guo Wenjing went to the Netherlands to direct his opera "Diary of a Madman". The piece was a free adaptation of Lu Xun's well-known short novel. He asked western cast members to wear long robes (like Chinese wore over one hundred years ago). He asked them to sing in Chinese. The work was praised. Its portrayal of madness was compared to other great works on a similar theme. The opera was adapted into eight different versions around the world. Guo's reputation as one of the foremost innovators of classical music was established.

Guo was fascinated by the voice of the violin his father bought for him to keep him out of trouble during the cultural revolution. Guo learned well and his accomplishment with the violin earned him a place in a local art troupe.

Guo WenJing,Composer,said,"I-- like many other young people -- was very happy to be a band member in the the art troupe.But I became fascinated to know how the band as a whole could generate such wonderful music. I began to read the scores, day and night. Buddies joked and called me neurotic. They thought scores were boring. But I found them quite interesting, and read carefully. I wanted to know how all the wonderful effects were created. So being a composer was my destiny."

In 1978, Guo Wenjing was admitted into the composing department of the reopened Central Conservatory of Music of China. His class became renowned as a cradle of fine composers including the world renowned Tan Dun. Guo's talent proved remarkable during his college years. Many works he composed then won awards and later, were performed around the world. In an interview with Chinese contemporary composers he expressed his love for the shattering, powerful modern classical music like that of Shostakovich.

It's fantastic....

And Shostakovich's Russian royal cavalry... January 9th, I was shaken, that any music could express such strong feeling. I was deeply moved.

Xi Chuan,Poet,said,Guo's music gives me a feeling of glory. There it is feel of something faraway, out along the horizon. But on that far away horizon you can see people there.

Guo Wenjing is a prolific composer. His works include a recent opera "Poet Li Bai",commissioned by Central City Opera in the United States. It debuted in Beijing in 2007, "Journey",was inspired by a poem by Chinese contemporary poet Xi Chuan.Guo has written music for dozens of films include Jiang Wen's "In the Heat of Sun" and Zhang Yimou's"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles". He plans to go as far as his talent and diligence may lead.