From East to West or Vice Versa

For several years now, KotorArt and the Shanghai International Cultural Association have successfully showcased young Chinese artists at the Don Branko's Music Days. In the Church of the Holy Spirit, on Saturday, July 22, the first of two themed concerts of this year titled China Stage took place. The two pianists, Jiarui Li and Bocheng Wang, along with soprano Xiaotong Duan, performed a diverse repertoire, including both Chinese and European composers.

In this regard, akin to previous years, we were provided with the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a variety of compositions by Chinese authors, spanning from arrangements of the most ancient melodies to contemporary works by nationally oriented composers, as well as European authors ranging from the French Baroque to Russian Romanticism and Modernism. However, this guiding concept in the concert's design contributed to an impression of programmatic incoherence rather than a sense of unity.

Both pianists initiated their piano studies in their native China – Jiarui Li attended the Middle Music School Affiliate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and Bocheng Wang attended the Music Middle School Affiliate of the Xi’an Conservatory of Music. Subsequently, both graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Given their backgrounds, akin to their colleagues in preceding years, they showcased works by Chinese composers at KotorArt. The concert commenced with a piece by contemporary Chinese composer Zhang Zhao, titled Numa Ame. Alongside this, pianist Jiarui Li performed two additional compositions in a duet with her colleague Bocheng Wang – My Motherland, composed by Liu Chi and Chu Wanghua, and Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon by Jianzhong Wang. As a soloist, Jiarui Li presented an interpretation of the Gavotte from the Suite in A minor by Jean-Philippe Rameau, while Bocheng Wang performed the Andante from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata in an arrangement by Arcadi Volodos, and Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 4. Leading the audience into the deeper cultural dimensions of China was soprano Xiaotong Duan, a young artist who, upon completing her studies at the University of Wuhan, attained a master's degree from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She performed the Song of the Jue Boatman at KotorArt. This brief song, in an unfamiliar language from southern China, is believed to have originated in the 6th century BCE.

Following the concert, the artists shared gifts with the audience – plush panda toys – thereby drawing attention to the significance of preserving this endangered endemic species.

Boris Marković