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In China, he builds bridges with music
Yu Long, conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, reaches across an old cultural divide.
By Nancy Pellegrini | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the May 16, 2008 edition
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Beijing - The New York Philharmonic may have played Pyongyang, but they're not the only ones using the tip of the orchestra to break diplomatic ice. On May 7, Conductor Yu Long and the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) traveled to Vatican City to play a special concert for Pope Benedict XVI, signaling a thaw in the frosty relations that have prevailed since the Holy See broke relations with China in 1951, two years after the Communist takeover.
Maestro Yu, founder of the CPO and the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) and essentially a one-man epicenter of China's classical music scene, has long blurred the line between politics and religion. For Mozart's 250th birthday in 2006, Yu organized the first public concert in a Chinese cathedral; in the same venue a year later, he played Mozart's "Requiem," arguably the most religious work ever written. Yu is quick to deny any political obstacles, but observers applauded the nod toward the "spiritual side" of music.
Cynics may say this tour is an attempt to deflect recent worldwide protests against China and assuage Chinese nationalism. While both Vatican and Chinese authorities refuse to comment on the scheduling specifics, Yu feels the event speaks for itself. He spoke to the Monitor about the tour and what it means. Some excerpts:
You say this is more important than the New York Philharmonic going to North Korea. Why?
Until last month, the United States and North Korea hadn't had an official relationship for 50 years. China hasn't had any official contact with the Vatican for over 50 years either, and now we've broken the ice. It's not about politics, but it shows both sides are communicating. And it shows the openness of China.
How does it show China's openness?
We're performing there, isn't that enough? The second thing is that the program is the Mozart "Requiem," a religious piece that really suits the atmosphere. Everyone loves Mozart's music, and the Pope himself is a Mozart expert. But the point of this tour [which also presented Chinese music, including the folk song "Jasmine Flower"] is also to show that Chinese orchestras, Chinese musicians, and many Chinese people understand world culture and have very high standards. That's important. I think a lot of Western people see only one side of China.
How much is Western classical music a part of everyday life in China?
China is very active in classical music, and the young people are thirsty to learn international culture, which is good. China's only been open for 30 years, and there have been a lot of changes, especially for my generation. We were born in the '60s, we grew up in the '70s, we went abroad in the '80s, and came back in the '90s. But I don't think we [merely] took Western culture back, we took the best culture, from East and West. People on the Internet talk about too much Western cultural influence in China, but I don't take it as Western culture or Eastern culture: Culture belongs to the world.
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