(audience chattering) (bouncy orchestral music) (bouncy orchestral music) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) - Happy New Year everyone.

This is Minnesota Orchestra.

Tonight we are celebrating the Lunar New Year and the year of the tiger, with this special concert from Orchestra Hall.

I'm your host Bill Eddins.

My co-host Ros Tsai will be speaking from the stage, and together we will welcome many special guests and we'll hear extraordinary music.

Our first piece of the evening is the "Arirang Fantasy," and our conductor for the evening is making his US debut with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Please welcome Junping Qian.

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(Tsai speaking in foreign language) Welcome to Lunar New Year at Orchestra Hall.

(audience clapping) (audience clapping) My name is Rosaline Tsai Benhong.

I grew up in China before coming here for studying, but with over 30 Minnesota winters under my belt, come on, you gotta consider me a native.

(audience laughing) Over the years.

(audience clapping) Thank you.

Over the years, my family and I have really come to admire and cherish the magnificent Minnesota Orchestra.

It is such an honor and great delight for me to spend this evening here with you in the Orchestra Hall, as we ring in the year of the tiger.

(audience clapping) Lots of power with the tiger.

One of the most important holidays for many East Asian countries, from Korea to Vietnam, Singapore, China, Lunar New Year marks the arrival of spring, and is now celebrated by some 1.5 billion people around the world.

Tonight's concert brings us a wonderful feast of music from East Asian artists.

Now from "Romeo and Juliet" to "West Side Story," these tales of love and devotion are universal.

One of the most beloved concertos from China, "The Butterfly Lovers," and I grew up listening to this, Liang Zhu tells such a timeless love story from ancient China, where two people, two young people one represented by solo violin, the other by cello, attend school together, fall in love, become inseparable, only then to be tragically torn apart by forces of society.

In the end, they emerge as two beautiful butterflies, freed and never to be separated again.

Here now is Minnesota Orchestra's own assistant concertmaster, Rui Du.

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music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (slow orchestral music) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) - Quite an ovation here in Orchestra Hall for the assistant concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Rui Du, he's one of the newer members of the orchestra, but he is obviously well respected and well loved by his colleagues, and a tremendous performance there of "The Butterfly Lovers."

We have members of the audience standing in appreciation, and our conductor, Junping Qian, has motioned the orchestra up to stand as well.

(audience clapping) A wonderful performance there of "Butterfly Lovers."

As the assistant concertmaster you get to show up every once in a while, show off, but it's a great opportunity for him.

(audience clapping) So what a lovely and unusual concert we've had so far, I mean celebrating the Lunar New Year is a tradition that many cultures from around the world have done since before recorded history.

And this of course continues today.

We have a wonderful video for you.

In this video, a few of tonight's musicians talk about their families Lunar New Year's celebrations, please enjoy.

- So I grew up in Mainland China, my hometown is called Tangshan.

That's where I spent my time up until when I was 12 years old.

I'm the only child.

We didn't grow up with a lot of money, but during the Lunar New Year one thing I was always looking forward to is getting this one thing from our parents or grandparents, a red envelope.

When you go visit your parents, your elders, you say greetings to them for New Year's, and then they give you this with money inside.

So it's a cash time for me during Lunar New Year.

And you know, the, I always put in envelope, and it has a lot of good words on it.

This is happiness or luck, good luck, lot of good fortunes in there, and the elders gave this to you and you bow and you take the money, buy something you want.

We get families together and we celebrate, and we give envelope to our kids and make sure our our children understand this is our heritage.

This is our culture.

This is very significant for me.

- The Lunar New Year for me when I was young, the only thing I remember, my mom will bring me a brand new clothes, from top to bottom because we were not very rich.

You know, we don't get a lot of new clothes only on the first day of the Chinese New Year's.

I was so excited.

And of course the red envelope.

The red envelope, that's Chinese traditional you will say, (Gao speaking in foreign language) which means happy new year.

Then they will give it to you, red envelope.

I only had like a 20 cents for Chinese money, is basically, it's like a 2 cents or 1 cent, but I was so excited.

So I will keep for many, many years.

Then I remember one time I finally got enough, I bought a handkerchief from my mom.

So it's just kind of like a, that's my happiest time when I have a Chinese New Year.

And of course, a lot of food, we were not very rich.

So it kind of poor, we don't eat a lot of meat, but in the Chinese New Year, you have a lot of meat, and five dishes, six dishes, eight dishes, everybody.

That's all my memory.

It's about food, family together, red envelope, and new clothes, new outfits.

- I grew up in South Korea, and Lunar New Year for me, it's called Seollal in Korean.

And it was really our way of gathering as family and sharing food and doing really fun activities together.

And it was really mostly about food, like we'll just gather as family, make food, make Korean pancakes, and we have this traditional Korean soup that we eat on New Year's called Tteokguk, and it's basically rice cake soup.

It's very crucial to eat Tteokguk on Lunar New Year, because it represents you gaining an age.

So on new year you're one year older.

So by eating Tteokguk you're gaining a year of age.

(Jenni speaking in foreign language) That means have a good year.

- The traditions of the Lunar New Year as celebrated by a few of the musicians from tonight's concert.

So as you can see, I've made my way backstage to our rehearsal room, and I'm joined by three very special guests.

First of all, principal bassoon, Fei Xie, and his parents, Zhengang Xie and Mei Hu .

And these are two of the most accomplished Peking opera musicians alive today.

(speaking in foreign language) and welcome.

- [Fei, Zhengang, And, Mei] (speaking in foreign language) - So I have a couple questions for you all.

What's going to happen here, I'm gonna tell my questions to Fei.

He's gonna translate into Mandarin.

Our special guests are going to answer in Mandarin, and then Fei is gonna translate back into English.

So that's what's gonna happen for those of you who are at home.

So my first question, how did you all get started in the Peking opera?

(Fei speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) (Zhengang speaking in foreign language) - Okay.

So my father was saying that he started learning Peking opera, because my father's father, who's my grandfather, he was a amateur Peking opera lover.

He loved to listen and sing, and sometimes he would put on a costume and act.

So because of that, he want all his children to learn Peking opera, so my father and two siblings of his they started training very young age and they were training as professionals.

So they all end up went on to be professional Peking opera musicians.

So that's how they started this whole Peking opera journey.

- So all your uncles and aunts are Peking opera stars.

- Exactly.

- Amazing.

Amazing.

So what similarities do you all find between the Peking opera and Western classical music?

(Fei speaking in foreign language) (Fei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) (Mei speaking in foreign language) - Okay.

So my mother's saying that the similarities in between Peking opera and say Western opera is that they all sing and with music and acting to tell a story.

And in Peking operas there are singing and dancing and reading and sometimes martial arts, and all of these things combined together to tell a story, it's a total art form, and same as the Western music.

We sometimes have music that's program music that has storylines.

So the two genre of music, they both have the capability to tell story and to take the audience into the composer's point of view into their story, to show what the composer is trying to tell us.

- Okay, well, I took some Shaolin Kung Fu, could I be a Peking opera star?

- You definitely have the potential.

- Excellent.

I have my next career.

Okay.

And speaking of next careers.

Okay.

So all your uncles and aunts and whatever are part of the Peking opera, how is it that you came to the bassoon my friend?

- Oh, let me translate that to my parents, and I will answer the question.

- Okay.

(Fei speaking in foreign language) - Basically, I wasn't good enough to learn Peking opera.

- Okay.

Know they self (laughs).

- So I start piano training at very young age, at around three years old.

My uncle at that time was learning composition in a theater school in Beijing.

And he introduced piano to me because they noticed that I have perfect pitch at a very young age.

I can tell notes when they play on a toy piano.

So he suggests that I learned piano as soon as possible.

So I did learning piano for about nine years.

At age of 12, I went to audition.

I wanted to audition for the best music school in China.

And after a couple lessons with the teacher, it was apparent that I was not going to get in on piano.

It was very competitive.

So they decided that suggesting that I go to try woodwinds or brass, and I met couple of bras teachers, and they think my setup is not perfectly fit for playing a brass instrument.

So eventually I end up, went into the woodwind department and played piano, and this very nice lady, she asked me if I want to learn bassoon.

And I told her that whoever teach me I'll learn the instrument.

She asked if I know what bassoon is, I said yes, but I really did not know what bassoon was.

I just want to get it into this top music school.

- So you just picked up a bassoon and the rest is history, as they say.

- I know it's.

- Fabulous.

- Where we are now in, you know, we are on stage with my parents playing a New Lunar Year concert together.

That's meant to be.

- Fabulous.

Well, thank all of you, Fei, Zhengang, and Mei for being here tonight.

Have a wonderful performance.

(Bill speaking in foreign language) - Thank you Bill.

- Thank you.

- Happy New Year.

- Happy New Year.

- Happy New Year.

- Before we go, we have to pass on this tradition of Lunar New Year, which is the red envelope.

- Oh, fabulous.

- It's a symbol for good fortune and good wealth and good health.

And we wanted to give this to you and wish you a Happy New Year.

- And great health and you know, be a great year for you.

- Thank you all.

And (speaking in foreign language).

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Now about the Lunar New Year, this day is important in my own life as well.

When my lovely wife and I got married 22 years ago, we picked the Lunar New Year as the date.

It so happens that in the year 2000 the Lunar New Year fell on February 5th, which just happens to be the date of this performance today.

And since the Lunar New Year floats in the Gregorian calendar, we get to celebrate our anniversary twice every year, and today I get to wish my love a second 22rd very happy anniversary.

So many things to celebrate tonight, including a world premier by renowned pipa player, Gao Hong.

She will be doing double duty tonight as a composer and soloist, coming up when the Minnesota Orchestra presents her concerto for pipa and orchestra.

What is the pipa?

We are about to find out?

(bouncy pipa music) (bouncy pipa music) (bouncy pipa music) - My name is Gao Hong.

I'm a Chinese pipa player, composer, and educator.

Right now I'm teaching at the Carleton College, directing at Chinese Music Ensemble, and performing and composing.

So that's my dream job.

And I love teaching, love performing, and love composing.

I have been at Carleton since 2001.

I teaching Chinese music instruments, like a one-on-one for the students, because I teach Chinese pipa and Chinese zither, the guzheng, and with all many, many of instruments.

(pipa music) Carleton for the Chinese Music Ensemble is on the program.

And also we were the first higher education in America offering music major and the manner on the Chinese instruments.

When I started the Chinese Music Ensemble at Carleton, there were only three Chinese students.

Eventually we grow so big and we had to limited the people who can come in.

Our students has won international competitions, even in China.

We have a Caucasian play the Chinese pipa won the gold medal for the first time competing with the 1,300 Chinese pipa player.

(pipa music) (pipa music) The Chinese pipa, about 2,000 years, people think is from a silk road, you know, is it the Barbat, the first lute from Middle East.

Then they went to west, become lute, and the wood lute, and guitar, and went to east, become sitar, pipa.

Teaching is my passion.

Even when I was a very, very little, I always loved to be a teacher, but I eventually I became a professional musician at age 12, but I never wanted to give up my teaching.

Everybody think the Chinese pipa like a guitar, because it sounds like a guitar, or banjo, or mandolin.

Actually, Chinese pipa it's none of the above, it's between.

When you play the guitar you plug your string like this, (enchanted pipa music) (enchanted pipa music) (enchanted pipa music) But the Chinese pipa play opposite away.

We flip out, start the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky, and thumb, like this, one, two, three, four.

(enchanted pipa music) (enchanted pipa music) (enchanted pipa music) That's how you play the Chinese pipa.

And also Chinese music always tell your stories.

Example, I will have to make sound, like imitate the flowing water.

(flowing water pipa music) (flowing water pipa music) Or the bubbly water.

(bubbly water pipa music) (bubbly water pipa music) Or like Minnesota's winters blow wind.

(wind blowing pipa music) (wind blowing pipa music) (wind blowing pipa music) (wind blowing pipa music) Or you can hear cannon shot.

Or fireworks, Or Chinese people talking (speaking in foreign language).

How are you?

Nice to meet you?

(pipa music) (pipa music) (Gao speaking in foreign language) Did you hear that?

Or you can hear imitate the people laughing (laughs).

(pipa music) (pipa music) So I do a lot of collaborations, and also compose my own use Chinese elements, and the Chinese pipa techniques, and express my music feelings.

I love using my heart to play, so every time I feel like I have more connection if I do that way.

I wanna bring some new ideas.

Example, I play with the jazz group, blues, bluegrass, and I play with the Japanese artist, Arabic musicians, and the Indian and Klezmer music and Irish music, and of course the symphony orchestra.

I'm such, such honored, and so, so excited to have this Minnesota Orchestra commission me write this piece called "Guangxi Impression."

(slow pipa music) So I'm very, very fortunate to be here to share the Chinese music with my students and the Minnesotans.

I do really, really appreciate everybody who supported me in my 27 years at Minnesota.

(slow pipa music) - Gao Hong first began playing the pipa when she was eight years old.

By age 12 she had left her home in the ancient Chinese capital of Luoyang, and became a professional musician.

I bet she never envisioned finding herself on stage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.

This is a testament to the beauty in universality of music, and the endearing power of ancient traditions in the modern world.

So as you can hear, we've come to the end of intermission and are preparing for an exciting second half of the program, which features the world premier of Gao Hong's concerto for pipa and orchestra, titled "Guangxi Impression."

So here again, is my co-host on stage Ros Tsai.

(audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) - Welcome back.

When I first came to the US as a student, there was a Christmas song that used to just touch me deeply and bring tears to my eyes when I heard it on the radio, and it went, "I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams."

See, beyond the festivities of firework and concerts and parades, beyond all the feasts of fish, dumplings and sweets, Lunar New Year is really about family.

In fact, pre-pandemic, the Lunar New Year season used to see the largest human migration on the planet as people traveled great distances for family reunion.

So along the theme of reunion, our next piece is an exciting world premier, a Finish composer, Jaakko Kuusisto arrangement of "Circle of Unity."

It was originally composed by singer-songwriter, Trinh Cong Son of Vietnam.

Beyond the pandemic isolations, and through all the periods of wartime conflicts, these dreams of peace and unity have certainly remained so relevant through the decades.

Please welcome back our conductor for tonight's concert, Junping Qian.

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Combining martial arts, mime, singing, dancing, and instrumental music.

Peking opera is a uniquely Chinese art form and a true world treasure.

Tonight, we have a very special treat, a classical Peking opera melody arranged for a full orchestra.

You can read the dramatic story in the program.

But let me mention two signature instruments that we will see.

First is the jinghu, which is an instrument with a bow and two strings.

And it's the lead instrument in an opera and carries the melody.

Then typically paired with it, is the yueqin, with a very distinctive, crisp, and energetic sound.

So please welcome jinghu master, Zhengang Xie, and yueqin master, Mei Hu, for a Peking opera classic piece "In the Dark Night."

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(energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (energetic orchestral music) (audience applauding) (audience applauding) (audience applauding) (audience applauding) - Well folks, what an incredible couple of performances there by our special guest Zhengang Xie and Mei Hu, (audience applauding) who also happened to be the parents of the principal bassoonist of the Minnesota Orchestra, Fei Xie.

(audience applauding) Just incredible artistry there.

I'm gonna speculate that there is a lot of musical talent in that family, and you could see the joy that they bring to their playing and to the music.

It's just really incredible.

Really, really wonderful.

So with that incredible performance, we are resetting the stage for our next piece, the colorful and contemporary "Sketches of Singapore", which builds upon four melodies that are popular in the region.

The Singapore Symphony commissioned the contemporary composer Kelly Tang to create this piece in 2008.

Tang has been recognized with a COMPASS Artistic Excellence Award by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore.

And, he also has received a Cultural Medallion, the highest honor for the arts in Singapore.

Here now is Kelly Tang's "Sketches of Singapore."

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No, not of melting snow or potholes, but rather a lush green village in Guangxi in Southern China.

From a distance young women are walking towards us balancing these long bamboo poles on their shoulders, baskets hang from the ends of those bamboo poles, bouncing up and down to the rhythm of their steps and their giggly chattering.

This is the setting of our second world premier tonight.

"Guangxi Impression," (speaking in foreign language).

Composer Gao Hong, spent considerable time in the villages where the ethnic Dong people communicate through song.

In fact, their unique sounds and rhythms (Tsai speaking in foreign language) have been recognized on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

In three movements, the music captures optimism of spring, a budding romance in the sweltering heat of summer, and joyful celebrations of harvest.

Please welcome composer and pipa artist, Miss Gao Hong.

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music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (fast paced orchestral music) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) On the splendid stage of the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, China National Symphony Orchestra performed "Spring Festival Overture" as part of the 2010 National Concert for Lunar New Year.

It was conducted by none other than Osmo Vanska.

Blending jubilant folk parade music with prayerful melodies for new year blessings, "Spring Festival Overture" is one of the most widely recognized pieces of music in China.

It is such a fitting finale for tonight's concert.

Because as you see, regardless of the frigid weather outside, spring is actually on its way.

(audience laughing) You gotta believe this, (audience laughing) úcause it is a spring festival.

(audience clapping) (audience clapping) And in the face of so many daunting challenges, we're joined here today by the love of music and fortified by the strength of community.

Isn't this what Lunar New Year is all about?

(audience clapping) (audience clapping) Thank you.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

We wish you a healthy, happy, and prosperous year of the tiger.

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This concert was a celebration of the Lunar New Year.

Of course, we are now in the great year of the tiger, and it featured all sorts of wonderful new music, traditional Chinese instruments, and of course, the first US performances by our conductor, Junping Qian, who is now giving solo bows here to the various members of the woodwind section, our principals, and of course, principal horn, principal trumpet, principal cello, (audience clapping) and a general bow for the orchestra that did such a remarkable job tonight.

I think a really successful concert, and a successful debut here in Minnesota for our young conductor, (audience clapping) wish him a lot of luck in his career.

Obviously, he has gone over very well with our audience here in Minnesota.

Everyone is on their feet tonight, and it's very obvious that people enjoyed this concert very much.

(audience clapping) He's bringing out all of our special guests this evening, (audience clapping) for one group bow.

(audience clapping) (audience clapping) (audience clapping) It's been a remarkable performance.

We've heard violin concerto "Butterfly (Lovers)".

We've heard world premieres, the pipa concerto.

We've had our wonderful host, Rose Tsai.

And of course, we cannot forget our wonderful Peking opera stars, who also happen to be the parents of the principal bassoonist of the Minnesota Orchestra.

(audience clapping) What a way to ring in the Lunar New Year.

(audience clapping) It's been a real celebratory evening, and we want to thank everyone who has been a part of it.

It's really been a wonderful, wonderful experience.

So thank you all for coming this evening.

What a joyful evening.

Our guest conductor was Junping Qian.

Of course the concert celebrated the Lunar New Year festival.

We're now in the year of the tiger, an ancient symbol of ferocity, bravery, and of course intelligence.

So tonight marks our guest conductor's US debut.

And of course, obviously, his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra.

I know for a fact that our co-host, Ros Tsai, it's also her debut here with the Minnesota Orchestra.

She is actually not a musician, but she came here to study as a student in Minnesota, and has stayed ever since for more than 30 years.

We were talking earlier about this being one of the few times she's actually been in this position, but the first time she's actually done this in concert with an orchestra.

So it's been a wonderful evening.

We want to thank you for joining us tonight.

Have a wonderful, happy, and prosperous new year.

(speaking in foreign language) and goodnight.

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