The "Yellow River" Piano Concerto is an Experience of Artistic Expression of the Cultural Revolution Tasks

Main Article Content

Liu Chuwei

Abstract

This article is devoted to the consideration of an important work for the period of the Cultural Revolution in China the piano concerto “Yellow River” (“Huang He”), which was created by a group of authors led by the composer Yin Chengzong and based on the cantata of the same name by Xian Xinghai. Among the national peculiarities of this work the article considers such ones as collective authorship, the introduction of Chinese folk instruments into the score, rethinking the interpretation of the piano and the transfer of techniques for playing Chinese instruments to European ones. At the same time, the concerto relies on European musical language in terms of harmony and form. This work is also assessed as significant in terms of creating piano transcriptions as a sign of the European musical tradition. The article explains the reasons for the popularity of the Yellow River piano concerto during the Cultural Revolution. Each part of the work is briefly analyzed from the point of view of its composition and thematic connections with the original source, Xian Xinghaiʼs cantata. The significance of the “Yellow River” concert is emphasized as a unique example of the European composition principles adaptation to the foundations of Chinese instrumental thinking, implemented with the direct participation of the ideological apparatus of the party.


Keywords: China, musical culture, Chinese music, Yin Chengzong, Xian Xinghai, piano concerto, piano transcription, cultural revolution

Article Details

How to Cite
Chuwei Л. (2024). The "Yellow River" Piano Concerto is an Experience of Artistic Expression of the Cultural Revolution Tasks . Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 55(2), 196–205. https://doi.org/10.17674/2782-3601.2024.2.196-205
Section
International Division
Author Biography

Liu Chuwei, P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Moscow, Russia

Post graduate student at the Foreign Music Department