JAVS Spring 2010

S HANGHAI ’ S V IOLA F ESTIVAL

by Michael Vidulich

Last November the Shanghai Conservatory of Music celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. It was also the seventieth birthday of the conservatory’s viola professor, Xi-Di Shen. To mark this joint occa sion, a “2009 Viola Festival” was staged in Shanghai, China, from November 28 to December 1, 2009. It was my great pleasure to attend this remarkable festi val, and in addition to the fantastic musical events on offer, it was extremely educational for me to learn about China’s musical development—including changes over the past fifty years—and to experience and learn about the music scene today in China. On my arrival in Shanghai, I was greeted by Niny Lam, who was one of the major organizers of this event and would act as my hostess for my visit. Two days prior to the festival, I had the opportunity to do some sight-see ing, which included attending “ Hong Yi, Monk & Composer ” (a Chinese musical production by Doug An) and visiting the luthier Zhen Hua Ling and touring his violin/viola factory. Mr. Ling makes “top of the line” violas (as well as violins, cellos, and basses), and he has won several awards for his instruments; meeting him and visiting his factory was most enjoyable. Just prior to the official festival opening, I was invited to have dinner with fifty-six teachers of the viola who had come from all over China and beyond to attend this festival. In the course of the evening, over a delicious meal, I was introduced to Professor Shen and to the other teachers present, many of whom had been her students. This was also my introduction to all the excellent viola teaching in China. I quickly learned that there are numerous music conservatories throughout China and most have viola professors (the largest having seven viola pro fessors on its staff ). The Shanghai Conservatory has four viola professors: Jensen Horn-Sin Lam, Nian Liu, Li Sheng, and Xi-Di Shen. Combined, they teach about eighty viola students. The conservatory has an attached “middle school” (a school emphasiz

ing music but also teaching other subjects) that pre pares pupils aged ten- to eighteen-years old, for the conservatory. Shanghai also has three professional orchestras. The four-day festival began with an opening concert featuring three outstanding alumni from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and former stu dents of Professor Shen. Wen-Xiao Zheng, a prize winner in the Bashmet, Tertis, and ARD viola com petitions) played Shostakovitch’s Sonata, op. 147; Jay Liu (special prize-winner in the Tertis Viola Competition) played Britten’s Lachrymae ; and Hong Mei Xiao (a prize-winner at the Aspen Music Festival and the Geneva Viola Competition) played Brahms’s Sonata, op. 120, no. 1 and her transcrip tion of Bloch’s Nigun from the “Baal Shem Suite. ” Each of the performers gave a thoroughly enjoyable and outstanding performance. The two accompany The book Viva la Viola: Waltzing with the Viola for Half a Century was published as part of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations

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