Another year of new paths: remembering the "Chinese stage" of the Kotor Arts Festival in the midst of the epidemic

In the past two years, people seem to have become accustomed to the phenomenon that exchanges and performances between many countries have been forced to cancel due to the new crown epidemic. Then, a delegation of outstanding musicians sent by the Shanghai Association for Cultural Exchange with Foreign Countries took a different approach during the same period of time, and they miraculously established a dazzling "China Stage" at the Kotor International Art Festival in Montenegro. For two consecutive years, in the ancient city of Kotor, one of the world's intangible cultural heritages, to thousands of tourists and local people from both inside and outside Montenegro, Chinese and foreign classical concerts performed by outstanding Chinese musicians were presented. Tsk compliment.

Home of the Kotor International Arts Festival

KotorArt International Festival (Don Branko's Music Days) is supported and founded by UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Montenegro, and the Municipal Department of Kotor. Since 2002, it has been held every summer from July 1st to August 14th. The organizers have warmly invited many artists active in the international music scene to come here, including the world-renowned conductor Christopher Penderecki ( Krzysztof Penderecki, pianists Yuja Wang, Ivo Pogorelić, Denis Matsuev, Boris Berezovsky, cellist Misha Mischa Maisky, violinists Leonidas Kavakos, Nemanja Radulović and percussionists Martin Grubinger Martin Grubinger) and so on. These famous troupes hold more than 200 concerts every year for thousands of tourists and local people from all over the world who come to the ancient city of Kotor and other places, which has made this art festival an important cultural festival in the Republic of Montenegro and the nationality of Montenegro. One of the brightest calling cards of culture and has made it one of the most visited music festivals in the Balkans today.

Kotor Arts Festival has attracted many world-renowned musicians to perform

The cooperation between Shanghai and Kotor Art Festival began with mutual visits in the summer and autumn of 2019. At that time, a performance agency in Shanghai who was invited to visit saw the vitality and attractiveness of the festival in Kotor. Later, the artistic director of the festival and the famous Montenegrin pianist Latimir Martinovi visited China. Mr. Qi saw the breadth and depth of Chinese culture and the richness of performance resources in Shanghai. The two sides soon reached an agreement, that is, the Shanghai International Cultural Exchange Association and the organizer of the Kotor Art Festival will cooperate to create a "China Stage" at the festival from 2020, and the Chinese side will select outstanding Chinese musicians every year. The delegation will go to the "China Stage" to perform, so that tourists from all over the world can appreciate and experience Chinese classical music displayed by Chinese musicians, as well as their unique understanding and skillful interpretation of Western classical music.

Photo taken by Chinese personnel during their inspection of the Kotor Art Festival in the summer of 2019

Kotor Arts Festival Artistic Director Ratimir Martinovic poses for a photo during his visit to Shanghai in the autumn of 2019

Some outstanding young performers in Shanghai favored by Montenegrin musicians

However, the sudden worldwide COVID-19 outbreak not only interrupted the planned dispatch of Chinese musicians from Shanghai to Kotor in 2020, but also made the dispatch plan in 2021 encounter the same difficulties. In this dilemma, the hosting teams of China and Black have invariably recalled a famous Confucius quote often quoted by Mr. Blanco Sbutga, another founder of the Kotor Art Festival, that is, “For example, if you ask for something in a secluded place all night long. In the room, what can you see without a candle?" This means that people are looking for something in a dark room, and what can they see without a torch?
Therefore, following the guidance of the ancient sages, the Chinese hosting team took a different approach, like searching for a "torch" in the dark night, carefully selected from among the many outstanding young Chinese musicians who have studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and are now studying or working in Europe. Formerly a young musician who studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and won awards in several international music professional competitions, Zhang Junjie, a young female pianist who is now studying for a master's degree in piano performance at the Berlin University of the Arts, and Leopold Mozart in Germany Zhang Zhouyaodong, a young violinist who is studying for a master's degree at the Music and Music Education Center, and Chen Zhonghan, a young female violinist who is studying with a famous teacher at Mozart University in Salzburg, Austria. After receiving the call from their hometown of Shanghai, these three outstanding young performers were quickly ordered to form the first delegation of musicians sent abroad since the Shanghai epidemic. Anti-epidemic equipment, bravely flew to Kotor, and held violin and piano solo and ensemble concerts in the Kotor Concert Hall on July 31 and August 1, playing Liu Tianhua, Mao Yuan and The classic works of Chinese composers such as Li Guoquan, as well as the classic works of Western musicians such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartok, Isaiah, etc., allow listeners from all over the world to appreciate the unique art of Chinese classical music works Charm, and also felt the superb ability of Chinese young musicians to interpret Western classical music works on the spot.

A delegation of outstanding young performers from Shanghai arrived at Kotor Tivat Airport in full anti-epidemic attire

Shanghai young performers at the 2021 Kotor Arts Festival "China Stage" concert

Group photo of young performers at Kotor Concert Hall

Feeling the precious spirit of outstanding young Chinese performers who are not afraid of the risk of the epidemic and resolutely go to perform for audiences from all over the world, the organizer of the Kotor Art Festival sent a letter to the Chinese side, stating that the "China Stage" established at the Kotor International Art Festival , is an international platform aimed at promoting Chinese culture and an important link for cultural exchanges between China and Montenegro. The first "China Stage" project was successfully held in the summer of 2021 during the epidemic period, enjoying Chinese classics for audiences from all over the world. The high-level interpretation of music and Western classical music, the two concerts brought together by young Chinese violinists Chen Zhonghan, Zhang Zhouyaodong and pianist Zhang Junjie, they showed their amazing musical talent and superb playing skills. , which produced a very sensational effect at the festival, and was absolutely praised by myself, the festival team and the audience. When I visited him, Ambassador Liu Jin (then Chinese ambassador to Montenegro) also expressed his high satisfaction with the artistic talent of these young Chinese musicians and the quality of cooperation between you and us on the "China Stage" project, and emphasized that China The embassy will continue to fully support the follow-up development of this project. To this end, we would like to sincerely thank you for your strong support in the "China Stage" project, and look forward to seeing more outstanding Chinese musicians visiting Kotor International Artists in the future to consolidate and develop the friendly relations between Montenegro and China. , further promote the "China Stage" cooperation plan, and provide more classic interpretations of Chinese and foreign music to audiences from all over the world.

Letter of Appreciation from Kotor Art Festival to Shanghai Foreign Cultural Exchange Association

At the same time, the Chinese embassy in Montenegro also specially sent a "Thank You Letter" to the Chinese sponsor and organizer, stating that "in the context of the significant reduction in direct exchanges between Chinese and Black people during the epidemic, young performers from Shanghai who are studying in Europe have Come to Heihe and play Chinese music in the first 'China Stage' of the Kotor Art Festival, showing the vigor and vitality of the younger generation of Chinese musicians, which is of special significance."

Letter of Appreciation from the Chinese Embassy in Montenegro to the Shanghai Foreign Cultural Exchange Association

Indeed, the successful establishment of the "China Stage" of the first Kotor Art Festival not only won the enthusiastic praise from relevant departments of China and Montenegro and audiences from all over the world, but also, in order to insist on direct Sino-foreign cultural and artistic exchanges and cooperation under the epidemic conditions, Provides fresh and successful experience.
In the spring of this year, the Kotor Art Festival sent an invitation letter to the Chinese side, hoping to continue to appoint Chinese musicians to participate in the festival's "China Stage" performance in 2022. After researching by Shanghai International Cultural Exchange Association and the Chinese organizer, they felt that under the circumstance that it is still impossible to send musicians abroad, the effective method of the previous session was adopted again, namely choosing to study at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and now studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in the United Kingdom. Chen Junyan, an outstanding young female pianist with a master's degree, and Zhu Dan, a famous Chinese violinist in Europe who has a special relationship with Shanghai, arranged for them to go to two concerts at the "China Stage" in Kotor from the London and European tour sites. It is not only necessary to splendidly perform Chinese and foreign classic music works to audiences from all over the world and online, but also to vividly demonstrate the tenacious spirit of the Chinese people and Chinese musicians to overcome the difficulties of the epidemic and adhere to foreign cultural and artistic exchanges and cooperation.

The Kotor Art Festival designed and released performance posters for Chinese young female pianist Chen Junyan and Chinese violinist Zhu Dan

Compared with the previous session, the award-winning level of the Chinese musicians who participated in this "China Stage" and their influence in the music industry are significantly higher than the previous session. For example, Chen Junyan, a young female pianist who held a solo concert at this "China Stage" on the evening of July 18, although only 22 years old, has won the highest gold medal in all piano categories including the 17th Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. The 2nd Spanish International VIGO Piano Competition Silver Award, "Most Popularity Award", "Best Spanish Composer-Performer Award" and "City Award", and has been with London Philharmonic Orchestra Chief Conductor Edward Gardner, Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra The orchestra's chief conductor Barry Wordsworth, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra's resident conductor Zhang Liang, and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and other famous ensembles gave solo and concerto concerts, which were highly appreciated by the music industry and audience. On the evening of August 2nd, Zhu Dan, who held a violin recital at the "China Stage", was the first to hold a solo performance at the world's three top music festivals, Tangowood in the United States, Salzburg in Austria, and Verbier in Switzerland. Only in recent years, the Chinese violinists in the association have cooperated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Eschenbach to commemorate Bernstein's concert, and the opening concert of the season with the Florence May Festival Orchestra conducted by Master Zubin Mehta, He was invited by the master to hold a series of special concerts in his hometown of Mumbai as an invited artist of the Meta Music Foundation for three consecutive years. He was awarded the honor of "Art Ambassador"; he has also won important honors such as Waldo in New York, the Gold Medal of the Mayo International Violin Talent Competition, and the Laureate Award of the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Brussels. The above changes not only vividly reflect China's increasing emphasis on the "Chinese Stage" of the Kotor Art Festival, but also vividly reflect that this "Chinese Stage" has been increasingly favored by Chinese young people and even famous musicians.

Zubin Mehta, Gerhard Oppitz, Christopher Eschenbach perform with Zhu Dan respectively

When choosing the performers for this year's performance, the Chinese side continues to value their performance standards, but also attaches great importance to the performers' spirit of public welfare and social influence. For example, violinist Zhu Dan has always insisted on participating in the "Antarctic Forum" organized by international environmental protection organizations outside of his busy music activities. He has landed in Antarctica three times without fear of risk. He is the first violinist in history to play on the Antarctic continent. The noble mission of environmental protection has been well received by the international Antarctic environmental protection community. Therefore, the Chinese organizer specially arranged for him to participate in this "China Stage" in the ancient city of Kotor, which has won the title of World Intangible Cultural Heritage. Sure enough, when the black organizer of the Kotor Art Festival learned that Zhu Dan was coming, on the one hand, he was very grateful to the Chinese side for this special arrangement, especially the sincere support for the protection of Kotor’s intangible heritage; Special publicity and special courtesy, so that this "China Stage" concert not only spreads classic art, but also plays a new strong voice of human environmental protection.

Photos of Zhu Dan performing in Antarctica

In addition to the above differences, in order to let audiences from all over the world not only appreciate the unique artistic charm of Chinese classical music works, but also feel the superb ability of young Chinese musicians to perform Western classical music works, this year's "China Stage" has chosen a new set of repertoires. Persist and have some new features: First, the proportion of Chinese classics in the entire concert repertoire has been appropriately increased. For example, among all the five pieces in Chen Junyan's recital, three classic works by Chinese composers are composed, namely "Shepherd Boy Piccolo" by He Luting, "Jasmine Flower" by Chu Wanghua and "Autumn Moon over Pinghu" by Chen Peixun. The second is to appropriately increase Chinese modern and contemporary works. For example, in Zhu Dan's selected repertoire, there are not only photos of Wolfgang Mozart and Richard Strauss written in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also Chinese-American composers and conductors born in Shanghai. Pianist and pianist Sheng Zongliang composed "Three Fantasias" in 2006 (see Video 4 for details), and asked the performers to give a guided tour of the Chinese music they will perform before the performance, so as to help the live and online music The audience understands and disseminates Chinese concert works as accurately and deeply as possible. In order to enhance the Chinese cultural atmosphere when Chinese performers are playing Chinese classical music, the person in charge of the Chinese Embassy in Montenegro also specially instructed the staff to make a special trip to send red paper-cut works such as the Chinese character "Fu", which were carefully posted on the concert site and posted on the concert site. It was given to the audience as a gift, which played a special role in complementing each other.

Chen Junyan at the Kotor Art Festival "China Stage" full of Chinese cultural elements

On the evening of August 2, the internationally renowned Chinese violinist Zhu Dan held the second concert of this "China Stage" at the splendid Kotor Concert Hall. With the continuous applause and warm praise from audiences from all over the world, this "China Stage" also came to a successful conclusion.

Zhu Dan and his specially invited partner, French pianist Michel Dalberto, inside and outside the "China Stage" of the Kotor Art Festival

It is understood that the relevant departments and musicians of China and Montenegro have not stopped. They have already started the planning and preparations for the new "China Stage", and are envisioning this profound and magnificent "China Stage". It will reach more audiences in more countries in the Balkans, so as to guide people and musicians from all countries and regions to compose more and more moving new movements of exchanges and cooperation.

The 2023 Kotor Art Festival "China Stage" has been planned and prepared