Accent

Chinese orchestra dazzles in U.S. debut

Music has a way of transcending cultural barriers. It doesn't speak Chinese or English; it speaks to your heart and your intellect in a language that has no accent and utters no words. About 1,800 Tucsonans learned that Friday night as the China Philharmonic Orchestra kicked off its first-ever North American tour here. The orchestra, with guest pianist Lang Lang, performed a program that crisscrossed East and West, including the world premiere of Chinese composer Hua Yanjun's "Moon Reflected on the Erquan Fountain," transcribed by Wu Zuqiang. It was the first time we had ever heard the piece, a serene and romantic work drenched in Western influences. There are string passages that grow robust then fade silently, much as a fountain gushes to life then subsides to a sprinkle. In the backdrop, you can hear a slight strain of familiar high-pitched plucked strings often associated with Asian music. "Moon" was the only Chinese work listed on the program, although conductor Long Yu treated the audience to an encore piece by one of his countrymen. Yu's goal on the North American tour, his 5-year-old orchestra's first venture this far-reaching, is not to spread the word about Chinese composers so much as to bolster China's international reputation for symphonic performance. The key to doing that is to prove you can perform the classical repertoire alongside the world's best. The China Phil's musicians have a ways to go before they can confidently make that boast, but they proved themselves a fine ensemble with endless passion and determination to excel. And they earned bonus points for bringing along the Chinese-born/American-adopted piano prodigy Lang. We Americans have a way of showering the 22-year-old Lang with love even before he's earned our admiration by striking a single note. The applause was near deafening when he strolled on the stage Friday night to perform Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini." By the piece's end, the applause bounced off the hall's acoustic tiles and ricocheted off the walls, enveloping the audience in a sonic boom. Lang deserved the adoration after turning in an exciting, awe-inspiring performance of Rachmaninoff, backed flawlessly by the China Phil. Lang and the orchestra played in perfect unison; it was evident they have practiced long and hard for this tour. Lang stole the show with his solo turn. His flair for the dramatic takes over when he gets behind the keyboard. He bobbed his head and bounced on the bench as he pounded out the taut passages in the final movement. Occasionally, he shot on-the-verge-of-corny smiles at the audience, much as a rock star would when performing one of his biggest hits. Some would call this showy, but Lang kept his showmanship in check to balance out his personality with the music's. His interpretation of "Rhapsody" is exuberant and refreshing, adding just the perfect gentle touches to the intro and youthful energy and personality as the piece swells in tone and attitude. Lang had barely landed the final keystroke when the audience rewarded him with a standing ovation. He returned to the stage five times and performed an encore of a snippet from a Rachmaninoff piece before handing the attention back to Yu and the orchestra. Yu got a similar ovation when the orchestra finished a piano-less interpretation of Brahms' four-movement Piano Quartet in G minor. The applause brought him humbly back on stage twice before he and the orchestra performed a Chinese composition that he said was called "Will of the Light." The piece is classical Chinese, with strings swelling romantically under a current of traditional high-arching Chinese melodies. It was absolutely beautiful. The piece did not speak Chinese; it did not speak English. But it spoke volumes.