INTERVIEW: LONG YU
Dispelling the myth
消解东西方之迷思 Long Yu speaks to Sophie Rashbrook about breaking down cultural boundaries and dispelling the myth of ‘East’ vs ‘West’ Long Yu is a conductor on a mission to break down cultural boundaries; a fact that is all the more remarkable, given his childhood experience of classical music. Born in Shanghai in 1964, his formative years were spent during one of the most tumultuous episodes in China’s recent history: “I belong to a very special generation that grew up during the Cultural Revolution. Officially, we were not allowed to perform or listen to Western music, and as a classical music student, I had quite a hard time. But when classical music was opened up to China again, it was quite amazing.” When talking to Yu, his optimism and enthusiasm for the art form shine through. Raised in a musical family, he undertook his musical studies in China and Germany, and is keen to dispel myths of opposing musical ideologies. “It sounds very sexy to talk about ‘East’ and ‘West’ today, but to me, music is music, and I don’t feel it is necessary to divide it into ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’. I don’t think that I have different feelings in my heart, just because of where I’m from.
16 The Green Room Autumn 2018
In the same way, I don’t think I understand Mahler or Beethoven in an ‘Eastern’ way – maybe I interpret it in a particular way because of my personal experience – but not because I’m Chinese.” This belief in the universality of classical music is a hallmark of Yu’s approach, both as a musician and cultural leader. As Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival from 19982018, he launched ground-breaking collaborations with the Lucerne, Salzburg and Edinburgh festivals, bringing international orchestras to Chinese audiences. Yu has performed across the world with superstar pianist Lang Lang, and has also been a major player in the development and promotion of his country’s classical music reputation through his work on the national and world stage. Despite the relatively recent expansion of the genre over the last 20 years, classical repertoire is far from a new phenomenon to Chinese audiences. Speaking of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra – one of no fewer than seven Chinese orchestras
or institutions under Yu’s leadership – he notes, “The SSO is now in its 140th year, making it not only one of the oldest orchestras in China, but also one of the oldest in the world.” If we add to that statistic the proliferation of provincial orchestras (of which, Yu tells me, there are over 80), and the boom in music education (China accounts for some 80% of global piano sales), it is not hard to understand why so many overseas management agencies, orchestras and conservatoires have caught on, and are eager to tap into the Chinese market. Yu is pragmatic about the reasons for the rapid increase in public interest over the past two decades: “We have a lot of people in China, and the market is so much bigger than in Europe. Beijing is a city of 20 million people, and we have other cities that are almost as big – Guangzhou, Shanghai, and others. If just 1% of our population starts to get curious about this kind of music, we fill our concert halls!” Yu is cautious when I ask him whether there is anything
