It was a tremendous pleasure for Hopkins Symphony Orchestra to have Jiebing Chen, a virtuoso erhu soloist to perform "The Butterfly Lovers" (梁祝) concerto, originally for violin, later arranged for erhu and gaohu, which are traditional Chinese two-string fiddles. Based on a "Romeo and Julie"-style story about two lovers who could only be united by death, the concerto was composed for violin to imitate the sound of erhu. So it seemed natural to wonder how this piece would sound on an erhu. Rearranged by one of the composers himself, the concerto was premiered exactly by Jiebing Chen, whose performance tonight was absolutely fabulous.
The encore was "Gallop of War Houses"(战马奔腾), one of the most delightful pieces ever written for erhu, in which the instrument, together with a virtuoso player, splashes its capacity of expressiveness as well as entertainment.
The encore was "Gallop of War Houses"(战马奔腾), one of the most delightful pieces ever written for erhu, in which the instrument, together with a virtuoso player, splashes its capacity of expressiveness as well as entertainment.
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