Maestro He Wu-qi: His Contributions to Chinese Classical Music From 1926-1968

He Wu-qi was well-known in the music circle during the 1950s.  His major contribution to music culture was the establishment of the 20th Century classical music of China on Chinese instruments. In 1951 - 1952, He Wu-qi established The First National Orchestra - the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra, for Modern China. Lu Chun-ling was one of the first masters to join He Wu-qi. He Wu-qi worked tirelessly on orchestration to feature Lu as soloist in concertos. Two of the most popular concertos they both worked on are "Galloping on the Grassland" and "Past and the Present". The Yuan, the Ming and the Qing dynasties did not have their own classical Chinese music unlike the musical Jin dynasty (the time of Xie An), so He Wu-qi and Shang Yi invented their own classical music and classical dance music. He Wu-qi arranged "The Moon on High" and Zhou Hao and Ma Shenglong arranged traditional "Processional" and "Moderately Embellished Six-Measures" for the Chinese orchestra. He Wu-qi and his colleagues composed "Galloping on the Grassland", "Ma An Mountain Overture," "Fishing Song of the East China Sea," and others.


The creativity and passion for Chinese classical music of He Wu-qi was unparalleled.  His student Ma Shenglong played his brilliant pipa in a re-orchestrated version of "Flower and Moon over the Spring River" in a series of 1959 concerts in Beijing.  All the Beijing leaders widely admired the musical passion of He Wu-qi and Ma Shenglong.

In the 1960s up to the present, Shen Sinyan further propagated "The Moon on High," "Processional," "Moderately Embellished Six-Measures," "Galloping on the Grassland," "MaAn Mountain Overture," "Fishing Song of the East China Sea," "Bengawan Solo," "General's Order" and Shang Yi's "Bow Dance," "Overture to Dagger Society," and other pieces in the United States. In 2011, He Wu-qi's National Orchestra for Modern China is on its sixtieth year.  He Wu-qi did not live to witness the discovery of the musical treasures of JiaHu, Lady Hao, YuYang and SuiXian and the large volume of integrated scientific and musical research related to them, but He Wu-qi would have certainly smiled to the intonation of the bowed five-stringed zhu of YuYang Princess 2000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty and the movie Lady Hao (3300 years ago, late Shang Dynasty

Exactly fifty years ago (May and June, 1960), the largest and the most passionate Chinese classical repertoire were recorded for the world by He Wu-qi:

"Fishing Song of the East China Sea"
"The Moon on High”
"Flower and Moon over the Spring River

 References:

Pan, FangSheng and Shao Ying, Maestro He Wu-qi (1926-1968), Chinese Music, 33, 16 (2010).
Shen, Sin-yan, The Shanghai Traditional Orchestra and He Wu-qi, Chinese Music, 5, 43 (1982).
Shen, Sin-yan, On the Acoustical Space of the Chinese Orchestra (in Chinese), People's Music, 1989, No. 2, 2 (1989). Shen, Sin-yan, Resonances of Shanghai - The Shanghai Traditional Orchestra, 33, 18 (2010).  

The Russian Five of Classical Music

In the latter part of the nineteenth century five Russian composers developed a musical style based on the melodies, rhythms, and harmonies of Russian folk music.
 
Mily Balakirev                               Alexander Borodin
The Russian Five is composed of a special group of Russian composers namely Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov, sometimes known as “The Mighty Five” or “The Five.” In the latter part of the nineteenth century they developed a musical style based on the melodies, rhythms, and harmonies of Russian folk music. Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) was the leader and the only thoroughly trained musician of the group. Arriving in St. Petersburg from the provinces, where he had come to know Russian folk music intimately, Balakirev at the age of eighteen set about to preach the nationalist ideals that were inspiring Michael Glinka (1804-57) and Alexander Dargomyzhsky (1813-69) to compose operas based on Russian subject matter.
Russian musical life had been dominated until the middle of the nineteenth century by western European composers and native composers trained in the western European style. Balakirev, fired with tremendous energy and an almost fanatical zeal, attracted the four other talented young men and influenced them with his own enthusiasm.

Cesar Cui
Alexander Borodin (1833-87) was one of the leading chemists of his day. Cesar Cui (1835-1918), trained as a military engineer, became a professor at the Russian Artillery School and Military College. Modest Mussorgsky (1839-81) was a cavalryman and civil-service employee. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was a naval officer until, in his late twenties, he chose music as his career.

Modest Mussorgsky
“The Five” met regularly, performing and discussing both the musical classics and the new music of the Romantic composers. They also brought in their compositions—whatever they happened to be writing—for criticism, suggestions, and encouragement. Basing their works on Russian folk songs and exotic Asian melodic ideas, “The Five” were forced to invent a harmonic style that fitted the modal patterns of the melodies; a type of orchestration colorful enough to portray the vivid scenes they had in mind; and musical forms in which the song-phrase, rather than the motive, was the basic building block.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Somewhat narrow in their outlook, “The Five” sneered at the less nationalistic compositions of Anton Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky. These men were great enough to ignore the sneers of “The Five” and even to encourage performances of their music.
Once having established the principles of what they felt to be truly Russian music, the members of “The Five” quickly asserted their individualities. Balakirev concentrated on


© 2011 Clavier/ Athena Goodlight