Family ties draw grandson of legendary conductor back to a career in music

 

Live show tells story of Princess Wen Cheng

Two men tell their stories onstage

"Music is like air to me. When I was little, my grandfather always played music in the house, such as Tchaikovsky or Beethoven. I never saw it as a profession, but it has always been a part of my life."

Zhang's family had a hand in the development of classical music in China as well as cultural communication between China and the rest of the world. But Zhang wasn't aware of his grandfather's fame until he was an adult. In his memories, "grandpa was just a plump, humorous old man who liked to tell jokes".

In 1977, Li broke the 10-year ban on Western classical music by presenting Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in a concert commemorating the 150th anniversary of the composer's death. This marked China's first public performance of Western music since the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Two years later, US violinist Isaac Stern (1929-2001) collaborated with the China Central Symphony Orchestra (now China National Symphony Orchestra) under the baton of Li, performing Mozart and Brahms' violin concertos, which started a series of musical cultural exchanges between the two countries.

In 1998, Li visited his daughter's family in Toronto and suggested his grandson return to China to help out at the Beijing Music Festival, founded by Yu Long, who later became the artistic director of the China Philharmonic.

For Zhang, who was bored with his studies of modern art theories at the Ontario College of Art and Design, the idea was very attractive.

"My grandfather tempted me with perks, such as getting to go to concerts and operas for free for an entire month. I'd also get to spend more time with grandpa," he says.

Later the same year, Li was hospitalized due to a stroke, and Zhang decided to stay in China to take care of him.

Despite not following in his family's music tradition, Zhang has inherited musical talent and created his own path.

After his directorial debut in 2008 on a production of Oliver! In Beijing, he spent three years writing his first musical The Joker's Game, telling the love story of a magician in a modern world filled with illusions. The show was staged in China on 2012.

Recently he has been working with CCTV on a magic show, combining his music with magic tricks. He also participates in cultural exchange programs as the executive director of the Li Delun Music Foundation, which was launched in 2002 in memory of the late conductor.

"When I was 14, my grandfather asked me, 'What is your reason for being alive?' " recalls Zhang. "I didn't have an answer at the time. Over the years, he would ask me that question every once in a while, and each time, I would have a different answer. But now I want to answer him that I want to contribute to the culture of the world."

If you go:

3 pm, April 12. Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu (Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing. 01057800200.