Yunnan soprano\’s golden voice finds a hall to match in Vien

Chinese folk singer Yang Xuejin is to give a solo concert – \”Oriental Lark, Colorful Yunnan\” – at Vienna\’s Golden Hall in Austria on September 4.

Yang is a Yunnan Province-born musician from the Yi ethnic minority, well known for her works such as \”There Is a Beautiful Place.\”

The songs the soprano sings are popular in China and in Chinese communities around the world.

A graduate of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Yang is now teaching there as the professor of vocalism.

For the upcoming concert, Yang has put a lot of emphasis on the program selection.

Besides the most familiar Chinese songs such as \”Molihua\” (\”Jasmine\”) and \”Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye\” (\”Blossoms on a Spring Moonlit Night\”), Yang will perform Yunnan folk songs including \”There Is a Beautiful Place,\” \”Little Running River,\” \”Mayila\” and \”Song of Horse Herding\” for the audience in Vienna.

Yang will also sing \”Cha Zi Yan Hong Kai Bian\” (Luxuriant Flowers Bloom) from the classic Kunqu Opera \”Peony Pavilion.\”

\”It\’s an ancient Chinese song from thousands of years ago. This time I will perform it in collaboration with the symphony orchestra. It\’s a very bigchallenge for me,\”says Yang.

To make sure she did justice to the song, Yang studied with members of Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe.

\”I hope I can present China\’s fine culture to an overseas audience through my music,\” says Yang.

The concert in Vienna will be conducted by Chinese maestro Zhang Liang, who also has study experience in Vienna.

\”It\’s my dream to perform at the Vienna Golden Hall with Chinese musicians,\” says Zhang.

Many Chinese musicians have performed at the Golden Hall, including soprano Song Zuying, baritone Liao Changyong and Peking Opera star Guan Dongtian.

Red Sea Jazz Festival kicks off in Eilat

The 23rd Red Sea Jazz Festival (RSJF) kicks off on Sunday night at the port city of Eilat in Israel. With the internationally acclaimed bassist and composer Avishai Cohen as the new artistic director, this year\’s festival continues the tradition of featuring the world\’s top jazz performers (John Scofield, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dafnis Prieto etc.) but also goes in new directions with the choice of the younger generation in international jazz scene as well as the Israeli musicians (The Israeli Big Band, The Apples, Funk\’n\’Stein, etc.). 22 international and Israeli groups will play 36 performances during the 4-day festival.

RSJF was launched in 1987 as a four day international jazz festival with 9 concerts per evening, 6 clinics with guest artists and nightly Jam sessions. The festival is held yearly in the last week of August, between Sunday to Wednesday.

It strives to introduce to the public the broadest possible musical spectrum, from New Orleans jazz to the contemporary, including Latin and World music. RSJF is also active in the jazz education field in Israel, promoting original jazz compositions and youth jazz bands. Around 80,000 visitors are expected to come for the festival, bringing about a 10% increase in box office compared to that of last year.

(CRI August 25, 2009)

Man Fong to hold concert tour

She took off her high heels, and danced on stage like an innocent girl, then sat down cross-legged and talked to a full house of fans.

Taiwan singer Man Fong exposed her most private emotions on the first leg of her “Singing in My Room” tour on the mainland, turning theaters into her private sitting room and her audiences into friends.

The performances celebrated the 10th anniversary of the cutting-edge City Pictorial magazine, based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, which promotes young urban culture.

Man Fong rose to fame in the early 1990s, but faded from mainstream entertainment circles. She has found a niche playing in theaters, TV dramas and films and is widely recognized. She has hosted a radio program for 9 years.

Man was the second invited singer to perform gigs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou last week. She shared the stage with Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake and her accordionist Hsieh Chieh-ting.

\”The amazing thing about a live show is that there are a lot of uncertainties,\” says Man. \”I don\’t know who will come to listen, how they will react to the performance and what will spring to mind. My body seems to respond more quickly than my mind, and I often forget what I want to say after a song. Yet those are all fantastic feelings to me.\”

She discussed women and non-mainstream opinions at her first concert at Beijing\’s Chaoyang Nine Theaters. She asked why women always have to sacrifice for the relationship and family. She wondered why love between women faces public contempt. Being left-handed, she wondered why being right-handed was so dominant.

\”What I talk about with my audiences is what I talk about every day with my friends, when we listen to radio or watch TV. My point is that people often change between being mainstream and alternative, so it\’s important that both sides are understood,\” she says.

\”In most people\’s minds, I used to sing a lot of sad love songs. Now I try to empower people who think they are disadvantaged and underprivileged.\” http://www.gtrip.net

Opera to be composed on Twitter

The Royal Opera House in London has invited members of the public to help create a new libretto through the social networking site Twitter. The submitted \”tweets\”, which may be no longer than 140 characters in length, will be set to music and performed in September.

The first scene of the as-yet-untitled work has already been completed and features a man who has been kidnapped by a group of birds. In a later development a cat intervenes to aid his escape, thought it has a surreal and experimental feel about it. One part reads: “Look in the hash tags, fair Hans!” twitters a passing myna bird. Another excerpt talks of a beast with three melting clock heads appearing and telling Hans he must answer a riddle.

It is all a little confusing. But the Royal Opera House attempts to explain things more simply on its blog: \”William is languishing in a tower, having been kidnapped by a group of birds who are anxious for revenge after he has killed one of their number. Hans has promised to rescue him. And the Woman With No Name is off to her biochemistry laboratory to make a potion to let people speak to the birds.\”

The aim of the unusual project is to encourage more people to become involved in the creative side of opera. Alison Duthie, head of ROH2 said, \”It\’s the people\’s opera and the perfect way for everyone to become involved with the inventiveness of opera as the ultimate form of storytelling.\” She said that the project could bring about many surprises. \”Expect the unexpected – who knows how the story will evolve, but get tweeting and you can play your part in your opera.\”

The Royal Opera House\’s Twitter feed at twitter.com/youropera is still asking for public contributions for its libretto. The feed has drawn around 500 followers, but not everything is going as smoothly as organizers might have hoped. Although Act 1, Scene 2 has been completed, one \”tweet\” posted on Monday read: \”So people, this is chaos! Please include #youropera in all tweet contributions and I\’ll carry on pulling it together on the blog\”. The final result, which will be set to music composed by Helen Porter, may not come together as expected, but the organizers concede \”It’s all a bit of an experiment.\”

(Xinhua/Agencies August 11, 2009?)

http://www.nmgmzbwg.com.cn

Lisa Ono to make Chinese television debut

After the most controversial contestant, Zeng Yike, was eliminated from the \”Super Girl 2009\” competition earlier this month, organizer Hunan Satellite TV station seems to be counting on guest stars to stir up the live show\’s ratings.

Japanese-Brazilian crooner Lisa Ono will be a guest performer on the show this Friday, when the top six contestants vie for the remaining five seats.

This will be the first time that the popular bossa nova singer has made an appearance on a Chinese television show.

It is expected that Lisa will interact or collaborate with the contestants, according to a report on the TV station\’s official website. Details are yet to be released.

(CRI August 11, 2009)

http://www.cne.cc

Linkin Park to return to China as promised

The American rock band\’s visit last year was canceled, but vowed it would be back and Shanghai Stadium is the venue for the concert of the year. Linkin Park, the Grammy-winning rock band, keeps its promise of a comeback with a long-anticipated concert at Shanghai Stadium this month, two years after its Shanghai debut in 2007.

It is timely, as the smash-hit movie \”Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen\” has taken China by storm. The Shanghai gig is titled \”New Divide,\” the theme from the movie that was also composed by the group.

Initially formed in 1996, the band consists of vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave \”Phoenix\” Farrell and DJ Joe Hahn.

Linkin Park not only wrote the new single \”New Divide\” for the \”Transformers\” film, but also contributed to the score.

\”Our goal was to write a song that not only captured the spirit of the film, but also stayed true to thespirit of our band,\” says Shinoda.

The band has a lot of fans in China who were disappointed when their appearance last year was canceled.

The concert tour \”Music for Relief\” was canceled after lead singer Bennington suffered a back injury and was told not to travel.

\”All six of us were very disappointed that we couldn\’t play in China last October,\” says Shinoda, \”Now we feel good, and we\’re ready to give a great show to a Chinese audience.\”

Best-selling

The group has won two Grammy Awards and its three studio albums have sold more than 50 million copies.

Delson and Shinoda were high school friends and formed the band Xero in 1996. Later, they were joined by Bourdon, Hahn and \”Phoenix.\” They then recruited lead singer Mark Wakefield. At their first live show they were signed by record company Zomba Music who later released the band\’s first demo.

Bennington joined as the new lead singer in 1998 a year after Wakefield left and he suggested the name Lincoln Park after the park he used to drive by on his way to work. The new name of the band, Linkin Park, was finally decided on in 2000.

Its debut \”Hybrid Theory\” was released in 2001 and was that year\’s biggest-selling album. By the end of 2002, it had sold more than 10 million copies, and the band received 10 platinum discs for their efforts. In 2003, the band released their second studio album \”Meteora.\” To date it has gone four-time platinum in the United States alone.

A third studio album \”Minutes to Midnight\” came out in 2007.

The group is also involved in charity work. They established the organization Music for Relief in 2005 to help victims suffering from natural disasters and deal with the problems of global warming.

\”We always feel very grateful for the amazing fans all over the world who support us. We just try to write music that we want to hear, and write about topics that inspire us,\” says the band. http://www.gtrip.net

Last of Beethoven sonatas

Beethoven fans should not miss this. Distinguished French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet will return to the Forbidden City Concert Hall to complete the Beethoven Sonatas Cycle tonight and on Sunday.

The pianist has played 26 of Beethoven\’s sonatas in six concerts at the venue since last September. He will wrap up the cycle with the last six pieces including op90, op101 and op106 tonight and op109, op110 and op111 on Sunday.

\”I really enjoy coming back again and again to the concert hall in the imperial garden,\” the pianist told China Daily as he practiced at the venue on Wednesday.

\”It\’s such a wonderful and inspirational experience to share Beethoven with Beijing audiences. I know that some of them have attended all previous six concerts and I hope they will come on Friday and Sunday,\” he says.

As a multiple award-winning pianist, Bavouzet practices at least eight hours every day. \”You may think the young pianist or student must practice more while established ones can play less. No, it\’s the opposite. It is because you are well-known, you should not disappoint the audience and must keep practicing and improving.

\”Music is so vast and there are so many wonderful pieces you can play and share with the audience. It is like food, I want to try every taste. In terms of music, I want to play different composers and a variety of pieces, therefore, I have to spend time learning and practicing,\” he says.

Bavouzet\’s insatiable enthusiasm and artistic curiosity have led him to explore a repertoire ranging from Haydn, Beethoven, Bartok and Prokofiev to contemporary works. His flexible virtuosity, clarity in playing and thoughtful musicality have earned him plenty of awards. Recently, he was nominated \”Artist of the Year\” by the prestigious Gramophone Magazine.

The pianist says he feels honored to be nominated, because \”it is such a big honor that many great musicians have won\”.

\”Although I have won many prizes in my career, I feel happy every time. It is like a pretty woman who feels happy every time a man tells her, \’You are beautiful\’,\” he says.

Beijing fans of Bavouzet need not feel sad that the Beethoven Cycle will end this weekend. Next year, the maestro will return to play the complete piano works of Ravel.

Time: 7:30 pm, July 24,26
Venue: Inside Zhongshan Park
Tel: 010-6559-8285

(China Daily July 24, 2009)

http://www.chinacourse.com

Lady GaGa charts third No. 1 on Mainstream Top 40

Lady Gaga performs during the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, June 21, 2009.[Agencies]

Lady GaGa has become the third recording artist in the 16-year history of the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart to collect three No. 1 songs from a debut album.

\”LoveGame\” (Interscope) rose from No. 2 to the top spot, marking Lady GaGa\’s third No. 1, after \”Just Dance\” (two weeks) and \”Poker Face\” (five weeks). The three songs appear on her top five Billboard 200 album, \”The Fame.\” The set has sold 1.16 million copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The dance-pop singer-songwriter, born Stefani Germanotta, joins just two prior artists in accomplishing the triumphant triple play.

In 1993-94, Ace of Base reigned consecutively on Mainstream Top 40 with three cuts from its debut set, \”The Sign\”: \”All That She Wants,\” the title cut (No. 1 for a chart-record 14 weeks) and \”Don\’t Turn Around.\”

In 2002-03, Avril Lavigne repeated the feat with a trio of tracks from her debut release, \”Let Go\”: \”Complicated\” (eight weeks), \”Sk8er Boi\” (one week) and \”I\’m With You\” (four weeks).

On the Billboard Hot 100, \”Just Dance\” spent three weeks at No. 1, and \”Poker Face\” led for one frame. As of last week, \”LoveGame\” was bulleted at No. 5 on the Hot 100, its highest ranking to date.

(China Daily/Agencies July 14, 2009)

http://www.cne.cc

Macao youth orchestra in the swing

To mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the 10th anniversary of Macao\’s return to China, the dynamic Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra kicked off a two-week, four-city China tour entitled Embracing Our Homeland last Friday at Guangzhou\’s Xinhai Concert Hall and on Sunday night at Macao Cultural Center.

On Sunday, under the baton of the Brazilian conductor Veiga Jardim, the orchestra premiered the Macao-born composer Bun-Ching Lam\’s \”Fountain of Lilau,\” which was commissioned by the orchestra to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Macao\’s return to China.

\”Situated in the inner harbor, the fountain of Lilau was formerly the main water source for Macao. Legend says that this fountain possesses a magical power and whoever drinks the water will always return,\” says the composer Lam, who lived near the fountain and used to play in the area when she was a child.

\”The piece reflects on my childhood, and I try to capture some of the memories.\” she says.

The orchestra will also perform at Shanghai\’s Oriental Arts Center on Saturday, and Beijing\’s Forbidden City Concert Hall on July 31.

In addition to the performances, the orchestra members will stay in each of the three cities – Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing – for a few days to see, feel and get to know the history, people and culture of the cities.

\”We choose the three cities to let the young orchestra members learn the varieties of Chinese culture, customs and people,\” says Hoi Kinwa, chairman of the orchestra. \”Guangzhou is the frontier city of China\’s open and reform policy, Shanghai is one of the biggest metropolises in the world while Beijing has a long history and rich culture.

\”Since Macao returned to China 10 years ago, the local children and youth have got to know more about the Motherland. And for sure, this tour will be a good opportunity for them to learn more,\” Hoi says.

\”We are proud to perform for people in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and will be glad to acquaint audiences with Macao through the piece \’Fountain of Lilau.\’ \” http://www.lersus.com

\’Time\’ set for Zhou Bichang\’s way to pop queen

Zhou Bichang sounds the siren on the retired \”Kiev\” aircraft carrier in Tianjin port on July 12, 2009. [sina.com.cn]

Record label Gold Typhoon is giving as much hype as the hope it places on pop singer Zhou Bichang.

\”Time\”, the singer\’s first album under the label, was released Sunday at a grand launch ceremony on the retired \”Kiev\” aircraft carrier in Tianjin port.

The ceremony opened with a gigantic poster featuring Zhou rolling down the exterior wall of the carrier. Gun salutes were fired, and the singer entered the captain\’s cabin and sounded the siren.

\”Welcome pop queen Zhou Bichang,\” read the slogan on the poster.

Talent, popularity, morality and ability are the key words for a \”pop queen\”, and Zhou is endowed with those qualities, sources with the Gold Typhoon said.

The ceremony cost about 800,000 yuan, or nearly 120,000 U.S. dollars, according to a company press release on Sina.com.

Pre-orders of the album on the Chinese mainland exceeded 80,000 within a week, the report said.

In Taiwan, where the album was released last week, \”Time\” has reached second place on the local G Music Billboard Chart.

(CRI July 14, 2009)

http://www.kphy.com