Wonderful—Liu Luohong’s Phoenix Music Appreciation Lecture (Photo)

Wonderful—Liu Luohong’s Phoenix Music Appreciation Lecture (Photo) (Sunbird Special Correspondent Li Ruiying reported) At 7 pm on February 25, 2012, Ariel...

(Reported by Sunbird Special Correspondent Li Ruiying) At 7 pm on February 25, 2012, the New Oriental Art School in Arizona, USA, invited the famous composer Liu Luohong, the director of the Alberta Spring Festival Gala, to give a music appreciation lecture to nearly 50 local music lovers. His humorous language brought bursts of laughter, and the guests all said that this was a wonderful lecture.

Composer Liu Luohong, director of the Alberta Spring Festival Gala

Music is one of the arts with the longest history, and it is also the most abstract art. It is precisely because of this sense of abstraction that it brings more associations to everyone. Many people wonder why music can create endless music to express people's feelings even though it only has 7 tones. Teacher Liu told everyone that this is because of the four major elements of music: the pitch of the sound, the length of the sound, the strength of the sound, and the timbre. Among these four elements, the most important means of expressing emotions is the strength of the sound. In fact, the earliest music had no distinction between strong and weak. It did not appear until the European Renaissance in the 15th to 17th centuries. It is precisely because of the Renaissance that art has developed greatly.

Music-loving guests

In order to better understand music, teacher Liu Luohong explained to us how to appreciate music using the most famous violin concerto in the history of Chinese symphonic music, "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", as an example. Teacher Liu said that we should make preparations before enjoying music. Understanding a certain story background and creative background can better help us understand the content of the music and the emotions it expresses. "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" is the most widely circulated legend among the four major Chinese folklores. It tells the poignant love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai who defied the coercion of feudal forces and finally transformed into butterflies. The concerto "Butterfly Lovers" was composed in 1958 and born in 1959. It is based on Shanghai Yue Opera. Like the standard sonata form, "Butterfly Lovers" is divided into three sections. The first section is the presentation section, which takes the love between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai as its theme. This long section is divided into three sub-sections. The first section uses the dot-line combination of the overtones of the violin and the waves of the harp as an introduction to show the first encounter between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai on a sunny day. Then the long flute expresses the clear scene of birds singing and the fragrance of flowers, and the violin lead is introduced as the prelude. The last section is about seeing each other off at eighteen, using violin and cello to express the two's reluctance and Zhu Yingtai's entangled and depressed mood of being unable to express the truth. The theme of the second section of the song is anti-marriage. The long pipe and tuba are used to express the power of feudal forces, and then the broken bow of the violin is used to imitate the sound of crying to express Zhu Yingtai's sadness and unwillingness to submit to feudal forces. The most famous "Butterfly" is placed at the end, which reproduces the love theme of the first paragraph. Although the music is basically similar, it doesn't have the bright and cheerful atmosphere of the first section. The method of adding a mute to the violin gives the music a hazy and dark feeling, showing the beautiful scene of flowers blooming in the heavenly fairyland, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai becoming butterflies on their knees. Although this paragraph is sad, it shows people's best wishes for their love. The final overtones of the violin also express the two butterflies flying away and away. "Butterfly Lovers" not only praises the great and poignant love, but also has a profound meaning that cannot be violated by human nature.

Lecture site

This music appreciation lecture was very successful, and everyone showed unusual enthusiasm for it. Under the guidance of teacher Liu Luohong, we learned more about music, making everyone's lives more colorful. At the end of the event, some audience members expressed the hope that such activities that are beneficial to the body and mind and cultivate sentiments can be organized regularly to make the life of Chinese Americans in Alberta more interesting.