Description on Youtube:
Conductor: Dedric Wong Deli 黄德励 指挥
Pianist: Victor Ong 王俊霖
Based on the Yellow River Cantata by Xian Xinghai
Arranged by Yin Chengzong, Chu Wanghua,
Liu Zhuang, Sheng Lihong, Shi Shucheng, Feixing
取材于冼星海《黄河大合唱》
殷承宗、储望华、刘庄、
盛礼洪、石叔诚、斐星 改编
5 Aug. 2016 NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre, Singapore
2016年8月5日于新加坡南洋艺术学院李氏基金剧场
~Synopsis~
The Yellow River Piano Concerto is a piano concerto arranged by a collaboration of musicians including Yin Chengzong, Zhuang Liu and Chu Wanghua, etc. from Central Philharmonic Society ( now China National Symphony Orchestra), based on the Yellow River Cantata by composer Xian Xinghai. Since its premiere in 1969, the Concerto has become popular in China and amongst overseas Chinese. It is noted for a difficult solo part. The German musicologist Carl Dahlhause once wrote that “[t]he heyday of virtuosity began with Paganini’s tours of the European capitals in the early 1830s and ended in September 1847 when Liszt abandoned his career as a pianist.” Thus, it is not surprising for Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu to remark after listening to the concerto: “How could a nation as great as China come up with a composition as such!” The concerto, being a collective composition characteristic of China, was even recorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Yellow River Piano Concerto stands out for its historical, political, and economical significance in 20th-century Chinese music history.
The composer, Xian Xinghai, wrote the Yellow River Cantata in Yan’an in 1939 during the Anti-Japanese War; it was reputedly written in just six days in a cave. r. It is an eight-movement piece in which he used traditional folk-melodies and evoked the image of the Yellow River as a symbol of Chinese defiance against the Japanese invaders. During his stay in Russia, he edited and re-orchestrated the work, which was later modified by Li Huanzhi, Qu Wei and Yan Liangkun. This edition aimed at furthering the energy and momentum of the music, and in this light, the rearrangement of the Yellow River Piano Concerto thirty years later is a continuation of that same practice. The concerto is made up of four movements.
I. Prelude: The song of the Yellow River Boatmen
II. Ode To the Yellow River
III. The Yellow River In Anger
IV. Defend the Yellow River
黄河钢琴协奏曲
《黄河》钢琴协奏曲取材于抗日战争时期的救亡歌曲《黄河大合唱》，这部钢琴协奏曲在创作中运用了西洋古典钢琴协奏曲的表现手法，在曲式结构上又融了入船夫号子等中国民间传统音乐元素，不仅在当时的中国引起了强烈的反响，也成为世界音乐史上最为著名的一首中国协奏曲。
第一乐章《黄河船夫曲》
引子一开始，小号与小提琴便以磅礴的气势奏出号子似的动机，木管乐刻画了船工们同惊涛骇浪殊死搏斗的情景。由钢琴急骤的琶音掀起巨浪，引出了坚定有力的船工号子。随后推出了钢琴的华彩乐段，描绘船工们冲过了激流险滩。这时，一段悠扬抒情的旋律描绘在斗争中见到了胜利的曙光。最后，音乐再现了激烈的主题音调，全曲回到号子的主题。
第二乐章《黄河颂》
深邃的大提琴奏出缓慢庄严的旋律，引出独奏钢琴的反复呈述，这是对中华民族悠久历史的追溯。钢琴铿锵有力的和弦奏出了乐曲雄伟的结束部分，铜管奏出的义勇军进行曲动机。
第三乐章《黄河愤》
竹笛声吹出了陕北高原质朴宽阔的引子旋律，独奏钢琴模仿古筝，轻快的奏出民族风格的主题。在乐队明亮宽广的发展后，钢琴深沉压抑的和弦与铜管乐的阻塞音表现了敌寇对祖国河山的践踏和人民遭受的深重苦难。随着音乐情绪的不断高涨，独奏钢琴激动地奏出象征民族悲愤的雄伟音调。最后乐队以辉煌的气势再现民族风格的主题音调。
第四乐章《保卫黄河》
引子是铜管乐奏出的号召似的战斗性旋律主题。音调中揉进的《东方红》动机象征毛主席党中央发出的战斗号召。钢琴的华彩乐句后，出现了《保卫黄河》的旋律主题。随着乐曲主题的不断发展，音乐展开了一幅幅抗战的壮烈画面。音乐情绪此起彼伏，当《东方红》主题出现时整个乐曲达到最高潮。在乐曲结
