From the Brooklyn Cavaliers Quartet to the Shanghai Quartet, and then to the 2024 chamber music mentor team composed of concertmasters and senior performers from world-class orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, YMCG has spared no effort to explore the development potential of young musicians in the field of chamber music.
On January 25th and 27th, the instructors and students of this year's YMCG joined forces to present two wonderful chamber music sessions. In terms of the structure of the repertoire, each performance will include works performed by brass, woodwind, strings, and percussion alone, or in combination.
On the evening of the 25th, the ** meeting kicked off with an excerpt from Handel's popular "Royal Fireworks**", trumpetist Hannes Laubin and trombonist Jonathan Reis led a group of brass players to bring a festive atmosphere. Although it was only a few days of running-in, several young performers were able to achieve the balance of sound and the tacit understanding of rhythm. Trumpet student Yang Huanyi described the cooperation with Lao Bin as benefiting him a lot: "He starts with the concept of sound, and then analyzes from the first logic, and then you naturally learn his processing methods and logic, and when I get a new piece in the future, I will try to think with his thinking." ”
The percussion ensemble of the evening was also particularly outstanding, with Carl Tolson leading several percussionists to perform "Forest of Hands", the rhythm is uneven, very rhymed, and the music is as its name suggests, like the undulating trees in the depths of the dense forest, and the sun through the forest occasionally sheds warm light. In the five-minute piece, Tolson led several young people to create a fiery and warm sound mood by integrating Eastern and Western instruments.
Beethoven's trombone quartet is a rare "listening" work, and Reis and several young people use their instruments to outline Beethoven's vigorous and continuous lines, showing the unknown side of the "music saint". The first movement of Beethoven's Wind Octet in E flat major is a work performed by eight students independently, and the warm timbre is heartwarming.
The final piece of the evening was Mozart's Wandering in D major (K136), the string player, led by the young conductor Glas Macano, adds a touch of youth and uninhibited to the composer's delicate and wise brushstrokes.
On the evening of the 27th, the ** will be a unique chamber music experience. The opening track, Aaron Copeland's "Horn of the Masses", is solemn and solemn, with the deafening drums and the distant and desolate horns, which seem to tell the mottled and heavy memories of memory.
This is followed by the second movement of Beethoven's Wind Octet in E flat major. The pre-performance instructor Elgaard described it as one of the most important works in the wind octet, compared only to Mozart's "frolic" for the woodwind octet. They are in harmony with each other, giving this piece an air of harmony and elegance.
Jacques Iber's five pieces for the woodwind trio were performed by three mentors, Elgaard, Fabian Tuand, and Maubanwen, whose precise harmonic counterpoint and appropriate dynamics were achieved after just one night of rehearsals.
The quartet "Drunk" led by flute instructor Gareth is a new piece, and Gareth and his students play a mixture of drunken comfort and drunken chic. Of course, the most memorable thing is the humor they can make the audience feel the best.
The main repertoire of this ** meeting is also Mozart's "Frolicking in F major" (K138), *Helmut Zechtner, Tutor Zhou and former principal of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, served as the commentator of the work. He described it as a youthful and passionate performance: "Mozart was only 16 years old when he wrote this piece, and there are many young people here tonight, and the performers on stage are the young people in the classical music scene, and it will be an encounter between youth and youth." The string players, with the exception of the cello, chose to complete the piece in a standing position, and their "retro" yet youthful interpretation won a standing ovation from the audience.
Both chamber music sessions were rehearsed efficiently in a fairly short period of time, and the high level of performance of the performers was impressive. Elgaard describes it as "a great compliment to the performers". This also once again confirms that ** can make people communicate with each other and understand their hearts with their hearts.
Zhai Jiawen.