Famous flute player Lu Chunling died at 8:30 a.m. today (May 22) at Zhongshan Hospital at the age of 97, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music has learned.
Lu Chunling, born in 1921, was a flute player and composer, one of the representatives of the southern flute school, known as the "magic flute of China", a native of Shanghai, and a former professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, as well as the president of the Shanghai Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Society.
Lu Chunling died
On Oct. 31, 2017, a reporter had gone to Lu Chunling's home on Wuxing Road for an interview, and the scene, at the time, was fresh in his mind. At 9 a.m., the aunt who took care of him brought a large handful of medicine and instructed him to eat it. He ate them one by one, and ate two grapes, like a child. 97 years old, although the food and living can not be separated from people to take care of, but as long as the mention of the flute, he was full of vigor, from the dozens of flutes in the home to pick a flute to play up. The more we talked, the happier we got, the more the old man sang a piece of Shanghai rap that he composed himself, glowing with energy and sounding like a bell.
July 4, 2017 - Despite being in the hospital, 97-year-old flute player and composer Lu Chunling continues to play every day, which the old man says is all he has in life.
Speaking of his life, Lu Chunling summarized it in three simple words: "flute player". Born in Shanghai, he began learning to play the flute at the age of seven under the tutelage of an old tanner. When he was young, Lu Chunling worked as a car mechanic in Jiangnan Shipyard and a driver in Xiangsheng Taxi Company, but he never gave up his love for the flute. 1934, when he was only 13 years old, Lu Chunling was given the opportunity to play in a radio station, and the sound of his flute spread all over Shanghai along with the airwaves. 1937, he participated in the Purple Rhythm Guomusic Society, and 1940, he participated in the launch of the Chinese Guomusic Society, and after the founding of New China, he participated in the establishment of the Shanghai National Orchestra, which was the first Chinese National Orchestra in Shanghai. After the founding of China, he participated in the establishment of the Shanghai National Orchestra, and has been a part-time teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music since 1954.
With a bamboo flute, Lu Chunling traveled to more than 70 countries to perform, and the sound of his flute spread all over the world, and he was known as the "King of Chinese Flutes". In the summer of 1955, Lu Chunling accompanied a Chinese cultural delegation to Indonesia, where 100,000 people came to watch the performance in Jakarta Square. The Indonesian people rushed to the square in order to see the artist for themselves, and in order to maintain order, the police had to fire their guns in the air. At that time, he was playing "Little Cowherd". The square was swarming with people and he continued, and gradually the scene, which had just been chaotic, quieted down. The next day, the local newspaper commented, "The sound of gunfire could not maintain order, and the sound of the flute conquered 100,000 spectators."
On the wall of Lu Chunling's home hangs a photo of him with Chairman Mao at the Great Hall of the People, where he was received eight times. He also found two yellowed copies of Mao's "Speech at the Yan'an Literary and Artistic Symposium" from a bookcase and showed them to his memory, saying, "My thinking was transformed because of this booklet. Literature and art should serve the people, and I always keep that in mind." There is also a photo on the wall recording him playing in a mine. Lu Chunling had performed countless times in factories, in the countryside, and in the army, with the mine going there especially often. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Jiangsu Datun Coal Mine, Shandong Laiwu Iron Mine, Nanjing 942 Iron Mine, Jiangxi Anyuan Coal Mine, Hainan Shilu Iron Mine, etc., there have been Lu Chunling's flute sound around the beam. He even went underground to play for the miners, and once picked up a heavy pickaxe and dug coal with the miners.
Besides playing, Lu Chunling was also a prolific composer.
Beyond playing, Lu Chunling was also a prolific composer. "Partridge Fly", "Joyful Song", "Little Cowherd", and "Six Boards of Chinese Flowers", which he arranged and adapted for the flute, have become reserved repertoire in the flute world. on May 29, 2017, in the "Lu Chunling flute 90 spring concert", Lu Chunling's disciples have taken the stage to play some of his most renowned works. Many of his disciples have long been renowned flute players and educators at home and abroad. He himself, wearing a rose-red robe, played his favorite "Partridge Fly". His robe was embroidered with a partridge bird, which was painted by Cheng Shifa, in a perfect likeness. On the stage, 97-year-old Lu Chunling still has a transparent and sweet tone, and dexterous fingering, leaving behind the ageless elegance of "China's flute king". People said, "You are over ninety years old, don't play anymore, take a rest and recuperate. But he stubbornly said: "There is a point of strength should be a point of light, blowing can not speak, speak can not do, to cultivate new forces to be an example."
Some words are still in the ear, a generation of flute king has been riding a crane far away. The flute has passed away, but the sound of the flute will always remain!
Interview with Lu Chunling: 90 years of jade flute
Telling the joys and sorrows of the common people
Superior view news: you began to learn to play the flute at the age of 7 from the old leatherworker Sun Gentao, who is said to be proficient in pipa, sanxian, erhu, and other musical instruments, but why did you choose the flute?
Lu Chunling: My uncle was very fond of folk music, and he played and sang all the time when he was resting, so I have been very fond of it since I was a child. As for why the flute well, you see this flute, not only cheap materials, simple production, and easy to carry, very suitable for poor people to entertain themselves. Although my master, Sun Guantao, was a leatherworker living at the bottom of the social ladder, he was able to play all kinds of beautiful and heartfelt tunes with his flute, which were very touching to people. That's how I slowly fell in love with the flute.
China has many ethnic instruments, and the flute has a long history and a popular base. Although this bamboo flute is small, it is very expressive, it can be very high and bright, it can be very lyrical, and it can also be very rough. In the north, in the south, in different ethnic minority regions of China, the flute has developed a variety of styles and techniques, which can shape different musical images and express different emotions, which is why it has been handed down and loved by everyone.
Lu Chunling plays the Bawu's "Festival Dance," which he composed himself
Shangguan News: You've adapted many folk tunes, and you've composed many yourself, but what kind of tunes are the most popular among the people?
Lu Chunling: In order for the people to like it, it is necessary for them to understand it at first hearing. Therefore, on the one hand, the artist should have a deep knowledge of traditional music, because this kind of genes from the folk, passed down from generation to generation can be directly close to the people. Secondly, you have to make the tune relate to the life of the common people. This requires the use of the flute to portray images familiar to the common people, to tell the joys and sorrows of the common people.
What I have just said is the level of work adaptation and creation. From the level of performance, the player should not only learn to play a tune, but also know the connotation and meaning of the tune. Even which predecessors have played the piece, and how their embouchure and fingering differ, all need to be figured out. You have to slowly find the sound that moves people as you learn and practice hard. When you are on stage, you have to forget yourself completely. On stage, there is no audience and no self, and you have to quit all the distractions in order to play the music to the audience's heart.
Participating in the 2009 Shanghai Literary and Artistic Creation and Major Cultural Activities Award Ceremony, with Qin Yi (left) and Huang Jun (right). Oriental IC
Life is the best material for art
Shanghai News: "The Partridge Fly" can be said to have blown into the hearts of the audience. Because when you are mentioned, many people will think of you blowing this tune. You have recorded many versions of "Partridge Fly" over the years, why is it different every time?
Lu Chunling: "Partridge Fly" is a folk tune from Hunan. It's about a partridge bird that is very beautiful, but it can't fly very high, but it's very eager to fly. So I put the emphasis on "flying", through different techniques to simulate the partridge bird high and low, near and far "flying", shaping the image of the partridge yearning for freedom, yearning for the future. I have recorded many different versions of "The Partridge Fly", and the reason why it is different every time is because every time I have new ideas. Creating and performing requires innovation and keeping up with the times.
For example, the piece I composed in the 1950s, "Today and Tomorrow", was first played on one flute, but later I changed it to be played on two flutes, and I took a soprano flute and a bass flute to express the contrast between today and tomorrow, and the emotional expression of the piece was different. The creation of a work is not an overnight success, but requires constant revision and refinement in order to become a good work that can withstand scrutiny and maintain a long-lasting vitality.
Superview News: You created a series of works such as "Today and Tomorrow", "Happy Newspaper", "Jiangnan Spring", etc., many of which are the result of in-depth life.
Lu Chunling: Yes, they are all inspired by feelings.
Lu Chunling: Yes, they are all inspired by my feelings. "Today and Tomorrow" is my debut work, which compares the people's suffering in the past with their happiness today. I have traveled to factories, mines, islands and fishing grounds to experience life. An artist who locks himself in a room cannot write a good work with flesh and blood, life is the best material for creation. Life is the best material for creation. Art should come from the middle of the people and eventually go back to the middle of the people. I remember once in the Anyuan coal mine, the mine manager said that the sympathy performance in the theater will be fine. Instead, I decided to go underground to perform for the absentee workers.
Lu Chunling, a 95-year-old flute player, plays "My Motherland" with his disciples at the opening performance of the 18th Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2016.
Shanghai News: why did you insist on going down the well?
Lu Chunling: I felt that since I was coming to the front line to pay my respects, I shouldn't just make a show of it, and I especially wanted to see the real scenes of the absentee workers' work and life. I went down in a coal truck and couldn't stand, but could only lie down. I saw the absentees down the shaft, who risked their lives to extract ore that was more valuable than gold. Down in the mine, I went to different operations and played to different miners. When I came out, I heard that there was an old miner who didn't go down the mine because of his health, so I went to find him and played for him, and he was so moved that he wouldn't let go of my hand. I told myself that I would be the people's piper for the rest of my life. I told myself that I must never be detached from the people and that everything must be for the people.
Life goes on, flute sound goes on
Shangguan News: In addition to playing and composing for so many years, you have also spent a lot of effort on teaching and passing on the music, and have discovered many excellent flute players, what is the most important thing you have taught them?
Lu Chunling: To put it simply, it's one word - "virtue". "Virtue is the first of all deeds", an artist must be of high moral character, so that the art will continue to shine. An artist must be of high moral character for art to continue to shine. Art is not for fame and fortune, but to have a higher goal. Of course, the technique must be excellent, this is the foundation.
I actually went to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1954 to teach part-time, and was officially transferred there in 1976. I teach students regardless of venue or crowd, in school, in life, and at concerts. I always teach my students one-on-one, hand-in-hand, and I am very strict with them, always hoping that my students will quickly surpass me so that the art of the flute can flourish.
Lu Chunling: Human life is too short. To be honest, I'm getting old, my body is not as good as it used to be, but I like to have a good time, and playing on stage still makes me feel happy, so I have to do more to promote folk music while I can still walk around. Do you see the inscription Yuan Xiaoyuan wrote for me on the wall? "May I spit out all the silk for the people". Life goes on, the flute goes on, may I spit out all the silk for the people, this is my promise to myself.
Content from CCTV.com