Musical works celebrate Party-founding centenary

Four new musical compositions to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China next year held their debut rehearsals in Shanghai on Saturday.

The four works were created by musicians born in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, representing the different perspectives on communist belief from different generations.

Jia Daqun, 65, completed a concerto for orchestra titled Zhu Lang Xin Chao (A Heart Pursuing the Waves). The name of his music echoed a 1927 poem by Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the CPC, which goes: I pledge my wine to the surging torrent, the tide of my heart swells with the waves.

Jia, a professor of composition at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, says:"The past centenary is full of history for China, and I choose the form of a concerto for orchestra to show my respect to this era, the Party, the country and the people."

Yu Yang, a composer born in the 1960s, showcased his symphony An Ode to China.

Hao Weiya was born in the 1970s, and his creation of music for soprano and a large orchestra is also set to a poem, Believe in the Future.

The poem was written by Guo Lusheng under the pen name Shi Zhi (index finger) in 1968, and has been popular since the 1970s.

Hao, a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, says what he wants to express is in the poem, citing the lines:"Friends, please let us believe in the future, believe in our unbending striving, believe in our youth that can conquer death, believe in the future－believe in life."

The last piece, My Father's Generation, was done by Yang Fan. Yang was the composer for the music in the award-winning dance production The Eternal Wave, which tells a revolutionary story of Communist intelligence's mission on the eve of Shanghai's liberation in 1949.

Yang says the theme of his music was drawn from the dance production, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Yu Long, music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra who initiated the commission of the works, says:"It's commendable that the four composers took the time and effort for this project during the pandemic. We hope their music, which is created based on their backgrounds, will bring different feelings on this historic occasion."

Zhou Ping, head of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, says excerpts of the four compositions will be staged at the 2021 Shanghai New Year Concert and the full versions will make their debut as early as the end of April before going on a nationwide tour.