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| Maestro Muhai Tang, Chen Zimbalista (photo: Miri Shamir) |
The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion’s recent subscription concert “RimskyKorsakov, Tan-Dun” was a unique concert. Orchestra and percussion soloist Chen Zimbalista were conducted by Muhai Tang (China), One of the highlights of the current concert season, the event constituted the first meeting of its kind between the Israeli public and a work by Tan Dun, a Chinese composer now living in New York. This writer attended the event at the Meir Nitzan Cultural Center, Rishon LeZion, on January 11th 2020.
The program included two works of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. “Capriccio espagnol” was originally intended to be a virtuoso piece for violin and orchestra; changing his concept of it, Rimsky-Korsakov, however, decided it should be an orchestral piece with virtuoso instrumentation, a piece that was “to glitter with dazzling colours” in the composer’s words. Composed in 1887, it was premiered in St. Petersburg the same year under the baton of the composer; the audience was so impressed that it demanded a full repetition as soon as the first performance ended. In fact, at rehearsals, orchestral players frequently interrupted to applaud the composer-conductor. From the work’s first sparkling utterances, Maestro Tang and the Rishon LeZion players availed themselves of Rimsky-Korsakov’s particular genius in orchestration, highlighting the work’s Spanish themes of dance character, its vigorous tutti and appealing sentimental melodiousness, its grandiose and tumultuous moments and its sensuousness, creating a decidedly Spanish soundscape and mood. But it is the work’s rich selection of solo cadenzas and small group sections, each utterance perfectly suited to the sonority of a particular kind of instrument, that makes attending a live performance of it so exciting. Whether violin, clarinet, harp, snare drum or castanets, brass, French horn or cor anglais, the Rishon LeZion Orchestra players did not disappoint, presenting them with freshness and involvement and with the marvellous contrasts and combinations of sound only a brilliant orchestrator can call forth.
Referring to his “Scheherazade” Symphonic Suite Op.35 (1888), Rimsky-Korsakov wrote: ”All I had desired was that the hearer, if he liked my piece as symphonic music, should carry away the impression that it is beyond doubt an oriental narrative of some numerous and varied fairy-tale wonders and not merely four pieces played one after the other…” Inspired by “1001 Arabian Nights”, and having no programmatic elements other than the ominous theme of the sultan - a loud, grim bass motif - and the recurring tender, sinuous melody for solo violin intended to suggest Scheherazade herself, we are nevertheless reminded of the initiative of the Sultana, one of history's greatest storytellers, and the tales she weaves. With Muhai Tang a master of the large, colourful orchestral canvas, the orchestra was swept into a flurry of evocative musical scenes. Once again, the many solos added constant interest, the most substantial, of course, being the graceful and arcane mood skilfully created by concertmaster Eckart Lorenzen, weaving the mysterious Scheherazade theme over harp arpeggios.
A unique concert experience was the Israeli premiere of “Tears of Nature”, composed by pianist, viola d’amore player and conductor Tan Dun (b.1957), China’s most cosmopolitan composer. Most widely known for his movie scores, he composed this concerto in 2012 for percussion artist Martin Grubinger with the aim of giving the often-neglected percussionist centre stage. Due to the work’s scope and complexity, the composer made a video demonstration for the purpose of “sharing the methods I used to draw out the many colours of percussion...to show the unique techniques such as finger flicking, rubbing, scraping etc.” The three movements, all deeply influenced by the composer’s background in Chinese music, focus not only on nature’s sounds and colours, but also on the trauma of three natural disasters of recent years. The first movement, “Threat of Nature”, its motif recurring persistently producing much tension, was prompted by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. “Tears of Nature”, in which the soulful marimba conveys an eerie, disturbing message, is descriptive of the misery of Japan’s 2011 tsunami. The final movement, ‘Dance of Nature’, chaotic, frenzied and spine-chilling, reflects New York’s revivification following Hurricane Sandy (2012), here evoked by the use of a large number of percussion instruments, causing the percussionist to whirl around, this symbolizing “both nature and the human spirit dancing together.” Introducing the work, Israeli percussion virtuoso Chen Zimbalista spoke of the composer as taking the listener on a journey into nature, fearing it and calling for help. To describe the performance that ensued as “gripping” seems almost to be an understatement. Never taking his eyes off Maestro Tang, Zimbalista, his memory of the complex score serving him well, moved from one instrument to another (some placed at the front of the stage, others at the back) soloing with total brilliance and conviction. There would be few percussionists in the world capable of performing this solo role. Joining him were percussionists Amir Lavie, Rafi Feigelson, Yana Krichevsky and Santiago Kuschnir. Certainly not familiar fare to the orchestra, the players, guided by Maestro Tang’s coherent and vibrant conducting language, embraced the work’s non-European style and mood with verve. Two encores followed: all the percussionists took part in Minoru Miki’s “Marimba Spiritual”, a piece written in response to the starvation and famine in Africa during the early 1980s; the second encore was an electrifying improvisation for tambourine and ankle bells, performed by Zimbalista alone.
Born in Shanghai in 1949, Muhai Tang is the youngest son of celebrated Chinese film director Tang Xiaodan and brother of painter and poet Tang Muli. In 1983 he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to work with the Berlin Philharmonic. Having studied in Shanghai and Munich, he has taken various positions with orchestras worldwide. He is currently artistic director of the Shanghai Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducting Rossini’s “Otello” at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, in 2015 made Muhai Tang the first Chinese conductor to work there in the 237-year history of the legendary opera house. Tang’s recordings include symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler, Haydn’s ‘Cello Concertos and Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, an album of music by Fazıl Say and two DVDs from the Zurich Opera featuring Cecilia Bartoli. His recording of guitar concertos by Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun with Sharon Isbin and the Gulbenkian Orchestra was awarded a Grammy in 2002.
Chen Zimbalista has dazzled audiences around the world with the myriad of rhythmic sounds he produces on some forty instruments. He performs classical music, blues, jazz and, occasionally, rock repertoire. His interest in percussion was sparked at age five when hearing a drummer at a wedding. Among his teachers have been Alon Bor, Morris Lang and Bent Lillof. A winner of several international competitions, Zimbalista has performed at the Kennedy Center, with the Detroit Symphony, with the Israel Philharmonic, Sinfônica Brasileira, the Ankara Symphony and at international music festivals. A recording artist, he has also commissioned pieces from M. Wiesenberg, B. Nagari, M. Hagerty,
S. Gronich, B. Yusupov and Hadas Goldschmidt Halfon.
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