CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com 

OF ALL THE 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH....ALL BUT A COUPLE HUNDRED LAST NIGHT MISSED ONE OF THE GREATEST CONCERTS OF ALL TIME.....NOT ME....I WAS THERE !

THIS ANOTHER GREAT SHOW AT ARTEMUS W HAM CONCERT HALL ON THE UNLV CAMPUS.

HOW COULD IT HAVE BEEN BETTER......ONLY IF THEY HAD NOT STARTED 9 MINUTES LATE !

CONDUCTOR EN SHAO OPENED WITH SOME HUMOROUS REMARKS ABOUT HIS VISIT TO THE CITY OF LIGHTS AND PLANNING TO RETIRE FROM MUSIC AND SELL LIGHT BULBS IN LAS VEGAS.
I LIKED HIM FROM THE OPENING MOMENT...THAT PRIOR TO HIS DISPLAYING HIS GENIUS AND CONDUCTING 3 PIECES FROM THE CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY....SHAO CONDUCTS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND WE WERE SO LUCKY TO GET A TWO HOUR SLICE OF HIS WORK.....THE ORCHESTRA IN PERFECT FORM...I AM SURE THERE WERE NO SOUR NOTES ON THIS NIGHT AND THE HAM HALL LENT ITSELF WITH ITS PERFECT ACQUISTICS TO THIS SPECTACULAR MARRIAGE OF SOUND AND ARENA.

REQUIM OF THE EARTH...1ST MOVEMENT BY COMPOSER XIA GUAN....PROGRAM SAID IT WAS A 70 MINUTE SUITE....I THOUGHT THIS COULD BE A BIT LONGER THAN THE USUAL 10 MINUTE OPENER...HOWEVER THEY JUST DID THE FIRST MOVEMENT  AND IT  WAS ONLY TEN MINUTES AND SO WONDERFUL...THEY LEFT ME WANTING THE WHOLE PIECE.

I DIDN'T KNOW I CAME TO HEAR VIOLINIST CHUANYUAN LI UNTIL HE STARTED PLAYING THE BUFFERFLY LOVERS' VIOLIN CONCERTO...BUT I KNOW NOW HE IS AMONG THE WORLDS BEST....SCHOOLED WITH PERLMAN AND JULLIARD AND PLAYING WITH ENERGETIC PASSION AND MOVEMENT IN DELICATE PASSAGE INTERPRETATIONS...MARRIED PERFECTLY TO THE ORCHESTRA AND SHAO'S READ ON THIS CLASSICAL PIECE OF CHINESE MUSIC.

TWO STUDENTS...ZHANHAO HE 1933 AND GANG CHEN 1935 WHIPPED THIS OUT IN 1959 WHILE ATTENDING THE SHANGHAI CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC...IT TURNED INTO THE CHINESE ANTHEM AND LEFT THEM IN THE MARGRET MITCHELL CLASS OF NEVER AGAIN BEING ABLE TO EQUALL OR TOP THEIR EARLY WORK.

WE WERE SO BLESSED TO HEAR THIS WORK....I COULD VISUALIZE MONARCHS FLOATING OVER THE STRINGS AS LISTENED TO THIS 33 MINUTE PERFECT WORK !

LI DID AN ALL TOO BRIEF 3 MINUTE ENCORE....LEAVING US STILL WANTING MORE !

AN INTERMISSION....UNFORTUNATELY

SYMPHONY NO.2 IN E MINOR, OP. 27 ....SERGEI RACHMANINOFF 1873 - 1943

AFTER THE OPENING TWO PIECES I WONDERED HOW IN HELL THEY COULD FOLLOW THAT...THEY COULDN'T BUT THEY TRIED....RACHMANINOFF ALWAYS CAME AT ME IN THE PAST WITH HORNS AND DRUMS AND HERE WE GOT LOTS OF STRINGS IN 4 MOVEMENTS...AGAIN BEAUTIFULLY PLAYED AND CONDUCTED...IT WENT 45 MINUTES...ABOUT RIGHT IN FOUR MOVEMENTS...AMAZINGLY ENOUGH THE AUDIENCE SOBER AND INTELLIGENT AND DID NOT INTERRUPT WITH APPLAUSE DURING THE PAUSES.

THANK YOU TO 76 CHINESE MUSICIANS AND ESPECIALLY 40 STRING PLAYERS WHICH I REMAIN PARTIAL TO AND TO SOLOIST LI AND CONDUCTOR SHAO.

MORE AT UNLC 702 895 2787    

MARCH 13 CLASSICAL GUITAR

APRIL 13  MORE CLASSICAL GUITAR

BOTH AT DOC RANDALL HALL

WE STILL DEDUCT 1 POINT FOR EACH MINUTE LATE...THERE IS MINUS 9....BUT THE PERFORMANCE WAS OVER THE TOP AT A 105 SO.........

96 A