On May 1, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will present a concert in Beijing's Poly Theatre with renowned conductor Shao En.
What makes this concert special is that Shao used to be a principal conductor of the former China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, which was the core upon which the China Philharmonic Orchestra was formed.
However, the China Philharmonic Orchestra is quite different from the former China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra.
Only about 30 of the 80 members of the former China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra remain in the new China Philharmonic, which has about 120 musicians.
The China Philharmonic is also organized in a different way, with all members of the orchestra under contract. The positions of the members of the former China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra were permanent.
Shao is also quite different now from when he was principal conductor of the China Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Shao was awarded the Lord Rhodes Fellowship at the Royal Northern College of Music and went to England in 1988. Since then he has acted as the associate conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, principal conductor and artistic adviser of the Ulster Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Euskadi Orchestra in Spain. He is currently music director of the Guildford Philharmonic.
"The China Philharmonic Orchestra has a lot of potential, with finely skilled musicians who have a deep understanding of music," said Shao after a rehearsal with the orchestra, "but it takes time as well as hard work to build an excellent orchestra."
At the concert on May 1, Shao will conduct the orchestra in Mozart's "Divertimento in D Major," Haydn's "Symphony No 101 in D Major" and Schubert's "Symphony No 9 in C Major (The Great)."
However, Shao says that works of the 20th century make up a larger proportion of his programs than classical works when he conducts in the West. This program with the China Philharmonic Orchestra serves mainly as a training course for the orchestra.
"Playing classical works requires very high skills from the players," says Shao. "It is very important training for a young orchestra."
Shao says he tries to interpret a work with the utmost respect for the composer.
"Conducting is an art of re-creating," he says, "however, the sheet music can only provide 20 per cent of the material needed in making music. The rest has to come from study."
This means the study of the life and thoughts of the composer, the social background of the time of the work and the interpretations of great conductors.
Born in Tianjin, Shao started to play the piano at age four and the violin at five, although the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) forced him to stop his studies for four years. Gradually he was able to resume, and at the age of 18 he was working as a composer, pianist and percussionist with a local orchestra.
Shao studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and after graduation became the second principal conductor of the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for five years. He was also principal guest conductor of the former Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China and the China Youth Orchestra.
Permanently residing in England, Shao spends about 10 months of every year guest conducting around the world. He says he does not know when he will come back next time, but he gives members of the orchestra this advice: never forget that orchestra music is a collective art and the musician's intellect is as important as his music.
(Eastday.com 04/27/2001)
