Understanding music from life
During the unprecedented "Cultural Revolution", Su Cong, because he was an only child, was spared the hardships of an educated youth going to the mountains and countryside, and he did not join a theater troupe. Or a song and dance troupe makes a living playing the piano. However, because his father, who taught at the Conservatory of Music, became a "target of dictatorship," when Su Cong graduated from the High School Affiliated to the Conservatory of Music, he was informed that he could only work as an operator in a traditional Chinese medicine factory in the outer suburbs of Beijing. In order for his son to stay in the city and have the conditions to practice the piano, the father risked being criticized and pleaded again and again. Finally, he finally said: "There is a worker quota at the Hufang Road Bathhouse. No one wants to go. Are you willing to accept it?" , we can agree." In this way, Su Cong went to work, and the masters were quite satisfied with his work. Public security officers are stationed here, and clues to many murder cases were found here. It is also a place where social dregs linger. Su Cong "received re-education" from both positive and negative aspects here. From 1978 to 1982, Su Cong spent time in the Composition Department of the Central Conservatory of Music. He recalled: "When I was studying composition in Professor Du Mingxin's class, I wrote some works that I still think are valuable. For example, two art songs written in the first grade, piano variations written in the second grade, and "" "First Symphony". I think the most outstanding one is the string ensemble "Dong Village Style" written in the third grade. Here, I used all the modern composition techniques I have mastered, even if I compare it with similar works in Europe. Even in comparison, "Dong Village Customs" expresses my feelings when I went to the Zhuang residential area in Guangxi in 1980. At that time, we carried luggage and a tape recorder on our shoulders and set off on the road in the morning fog; we climbed up the dangerous peaks along the valley. Listening to the cries of apes and the rumbling sound of felling trees; late at night, I listened to the moving singing in the village. I expressed all these feelings in the string ensemble." Indeed, through his studies at the Central Conservatory of Music, Su Cong. Mastered the creative skills of using music to express life, thoughts and feelings.
Formating his own music prose
In the early spring of 1983, Su Cong completed his first work "String Quartet No. 2" under the guidance of Professor Acker of the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. . In the autumn of the same year, another of his works, "Concert Overture", was born. "The Last Emperor" composed by Su Cong was performed in Hong Kong in 1997. In the description of "Concert Overture", Su Cong wrote: "The "Overture" is the composer's night reading of historical materials of the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai and his poem "Nocturne" "The artistic conception of its music reminds people of a quiet night in the mountains, with the echoes of wooden fish and dusk drums floating in the distance, making people feel the wandering poet's longing for his homeland: dreams surround the past. The life and the majesty of the imperial capital, when looking back on the experience of many wars in half a life, I didn't realize that the morning bell was rising again amidst the ups and downs of my thoughts, so I looked at the cool autumn on the fortress, and my feelings for my old friend doubled." Next, Su Cong wrote. Said: "But rather than describing Li Bai's poetry, the work is more about expressing my nostalgia at that time."
Su Cong once described his life in Munich like this: "Just now When I arrived in Munich, in order to learn more about modern music as quickly as possible, I got up early and went to bed late every day in order to arrange dinner between 11 and 12 o'clock. This is the time for the modern music special topic to be played in the future. I also listened to everything, including pop music. I maintained this kind of life for 4 years and saved money. I went to a lot of operas, dance dramas and concerts, but the ones I attended the most were disdainful to most people in this city. A glimpse of modern concerts. I attended modern concerts in various places and analyzed some of his works under the guidance of Carl Stockhausen. But soon, or after two years, I lost interest in avant-garde music. Quite a few.”
It was in Berlin that Su Cong’s works were truly introduced on important occasions in Europe. In early 1985, in preparation for the East Asian Arts Festival held at the West Berlin International Arts Festival in June of the same year, the organizing committee commissioned Su Cong, Japanese composers Toru Takemitsu, Ishii Maki, German-Korean composer Yun Yisang, and Korean composer Kang Seok-hee. To write a symphonic music work, Su Cong completed the band music "Breaking Dawn".
When the work was performed in Switzerland, Basel's German newspaper commented: "This is a highly comprehensive work that emphasizes percussion in the symphony orchestra. It is a combination of Eastern and Western cultures. It is very interesting to the audience. It is also a particularly moving work. Although it has a distinct modernist style, it does not belong to the experimental type of academic school, but is based on imagination in different artistic styles.
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Su Cong said when talking about his creative experience: “This piece of music is not so much about describing the ethereal, elegant, mysterious and illusory ancient artistic conception, but it is better to use it to express the turbulent mood of today.” The awareness of the times... appeals to the progress of society through a fire-like fervent call. "
"Piano Fantasy" won the second place in the International Piano Competition in 1995. It was completed at the same time as "Breaking Dawn". At this time, Su Cong was already studying with Cook at the Institute of Music of the Free University of Berlin. Professor Ertz studied for a doctorate in comparative music. This work was composed for the international piano competition held in commemoration of the centenary of Liszt's death. In order to perform successfully, his father suggested that Su Cong should use Chinese musical thinking and unique characteristics. To interpret Liszt's music in a way that expresses thoughts and feelings, the artistic conception must be original and original. You can imagine the dawn of summer, soft and transparent; in a calm valley, a pot of clear water floats red or green. The leaves fall; the birds fly in fright, causing the valley to reverberate; in the distance, the waterfall cascades from the sky, rushing into the pool, and the forest is so quiet. At the same time, the piano plays the sound of Chinese plucked strings. , his father suggested that Su Cong open the piano cover and use his fingers to perform various plucking methods, including light and heavy plucking, using a buckle to plucking, using nails close to the bridge and using waveform glissando. As a result, Su Cong succeeded. It uses many new creative techniques. Tsang Yip-fat, chairman of the Hong Kong Composers Association, commented: "The work sounds very Chinese Guqin, and Su Cong's musical prose style has been fully demonstrated in this piece. "In June 1985, Su Cong found a publishing house that recommended his works - Peters Music Publishing House. He did not expect that this world-class publishing house would have a strong interest in his works.
Pursue the realm of elegance and appreciation
The music of the movie "The Last Emperor" has been praised by people inside and outside the industry. Su Cong did a lot of preparation work for creating the music of "The Last Emperor". : Reading literature, visiting experts and scholars is no longer a problem, but it is still difficult to write film music that is realistic to historical figures, modern and in line with the taste of film director Bertolucci, because we all know this person. The internationally renowned film director has very strict requirements for film music. The film "The End" does not have a script for each scene, and it does not indicate which segment has music. Pei only gave Su Cong a literary script and asked him to do it. He participated in filming activities every day, and sometimes asked him to discuss the musical ideas for certain scenes during filming breaks. As for writing, Su Cong could only write a piece of music late at night, and then go through rehearsals and recordings with the band. The director team will review and approve the piece, otherwise it will be rewritten until it is satisfactory. However, sometimes the approved pieces of music will be overturned during the actual shooting and mixing. Sometimes the fifth draft will be used, and the second draft will be temporarily used during the actual shooting. This film music creation practice has greatly improved Su Cong's thinking ability and improvisation ability in capturing and structuring musical images. At the farewell banquet, Pei said to Su Cong: "Your works are noble, elegant and unique." The slightly melancholic temperament is consistent with the music style of this movie. This is the reason why I invited you to create it. I am very satisfied with your creation. ”
Su Cong said that Chinese traditional culture has a “decisive influence” on him. As a Chinese who has lived abroad for a long time, Su Cong often feels “for fear of forgetting Chinese culture.” He said His success today is largely due to Chinese culture and the solid foundation of music creation he laid in China. He is very grateful to his teacher, Professor Du Wuxin, who often uses the words "elegant" and "vulgar". " to describe serious music and pop music, but Su Cong doesn't think so. He agrees with the famous American conductor Bernstein's view that "music is not divided into serious and popular music at all, but only good and bad." Su Cong said : Musical works should be as close to life and the public as possible. To put it bluntly, Su Cong is currently conceiving the "Second Symphony" and wants to create a work that is between "serious" and "popular". Emphasis: “I want to make my own way. "The famous music critic Richard Hymen has this evaluation of Su Cong's music works: "It can be both elegant and improvisational, and when it needs to be popular, it can also be popular! ”