Christine Walewska, considered one of the greatest cellists living today, knows how music has the power to uplift the human soul. She saw the Divine Performing Arts production, Holiday Wonders, and discusses the magical quality of the music, the orchestra's musicianship, the beautifully-executed backdrops, and the rich delivery of the vocal and instrumental soloists.
This is a magical experience. What I saw in that show was so beautiful—the dancing, the talent that is represented on that stage.
It's magical sitting there and you hear this orchestra, which is a combination of Western and Chinese instruments and the Chinese and Western performers, and all of this coming together.
And when I've told people about the upcoming [shows at] Radio City Music Hall that begin on January 30, I tell them, "This is magical." Radio City Music Hall is the most fantastic theater for something like this. For instance, I enjoy very much the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes, but it's always the same. This was absolutely precious, marvelous.
There are so few things that you can recommend today. We all know what exists, we all know what's out there—all the violence and all the other things that are so harmful to us. For once we have something gorgeous that you can recommend to people in all its beauty from beginning to end.
Everyone that I know who has seen it, everybody comes away with exactly the same opinion: Everybody says you have to see it to believe it. You cannot describe it in words; it must be experienced. It's just something beautiful. It's something to be immensely proud of.
For the first time, [the audience hears] a combination of Western instruments and a variety of Chinese instruments. That was what was so unique. The sound is something you have never heard before; it is totally unique.
When I heard this great, great woman artist—the erhu player (erhu musician Qi Xiaochun)—she was such a great artist, I was so completely captivated by her and you sense this fantastic spirituality that she has. I was saying to this friend of mine, I said, "You know, she was playing with the piano.
I listened carefully to the piano accompaniment, and I can well envision the cello playing with the erhu, because it would make a fabulous combination, the ancient Chinese instrument and the cello.
When asked what sets this apart from the world's great music and concerts, she said: First of all it is completely unique. I had never seen the erhu performed. I had no idea how marvelous it can sound. [Holiday Wonders] had that wonderful brass quintet—they were all marvelous virtuosos. The singers, the Chinese singers—gorgeous voices, absolutely gorgeous. Then the soprano—I saw the show twice—she sang something different both times; she wore a different gown both times. Each time it was exquisite.
That's exactly what sets this group apart, because there are so many of these compositions that are just especially for this. I was so amazed that on the two occasions that I saw it—it was just a matter of days in between—they did so many different things. This shows tremendous creativity. It's not like, "Here's our script," and now everybody says the same thing every single night.
And then the backdrops—that was so astounding! I just cannot fathom how they managed to do this but I was told each backdrop took a lot of man-hours. I have never seen anything like it. Some of those backdrops, you were just transported to another era, another beautiful time—and of course all this magnificent ancient Chinese architecture, the gorgeous flowers, it was just fabulous, absolutely fabulous.
I think it's a great privilege for those of us who were here at Christmastime to have this brought to our city, and I am so grateful that it's not only New York. Because so often the great things only come to New York, but I've been told that they're going to be going to 54 different cities. [Divine Performing Arts will perform in 63 cities around the world.]
So I've already alerted my friends on the West Coast, and all over. I called a friend the other day. She's originally from Korea and lives in Hawaii, and I told her, 'I do hope this show comes to Hawaii because you will be thrilled.'
You see, music is a very fragile plant. It must be carefully cultivated. If one has all of this pressure to learn music then where is the inspiration? Where is the freedom of imagination? One hears a little too much of certain Asian soloists that you don't feel that something is actually coming from within them. They have taken five measures from Heifetz from this particular piece and these five measures from Eustrach. It's like a composite. And particularly when you see a lot of this hair-throwing (tosses head) and all this kind of "showmanship" going on …
[Violin virtuoso] Ruggiero Ricci said to me, "We are living in an era where people go to the concerts with their eyes open and they go to the museum with their ears open."
You see a piece of junk hanging on the wall and you are embarrassed to say, "I think this is a piece of junk. I think that all this paint that has been thrown on this canvas is absolutely ugly. It's horrible." People don't dare speak up. And they'll say, "Well, what do you think of this painting?" So, in other words, their ears are open.
I always say, if you are listening to a concert, shut your eyes.
And then they go and watch the shoddy exhibitionism of many of these people who are trying to sell the music on the physical [level], rather than what it is truly meant to be.
As another great person I know said to me a number of years ago, "We live in an age where mediocrity reigns, shoddy exhibitionism, and where things of the spirit are wasted on the desert air."
I have told so many people about [the show]. I mean, everybody has got to see that show. And that's why I'm coming back to this gorgeous show. Here you have something to recommend, because it is so beautiful.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.
Feeds