Dual Identity and Historical Mediation: The Significance of the Yellow River Piano Concerto in China’s Modernization Process
WANG Qi ZHOU Quan
Abstract: As one of the representative piano works of twentieth- century China, the Yellow River Piano Concerto embodies the broader cultural transformation associated with China’s modernization and internationalization. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives, this article reexamines the concerto’s historical position within modern Chinese history. It argues that the work possesses a “dualidentity.” On the one hand, as a model work of the Cultural Revolution, it functioned as a highly politicized artistic product that conveyed revolutionary ideology through collective performance practices, nationalist narratives, and socialist aesthetics. On the one hand, as an example of the Cultural Revolution, it functioned as a highly politicized artistic product that conveyed revolutionary ideology through collective performance practices, nationalist narratives, and socialist aesthetics.Moreover, it remained fundamentally grounded in the Western piano concerto tradition through its harmony, orchestration, virtuosic piano writing, and large-scale concerto structure. This contradiction enabled the concerto to transcend ideological restrictions and become a mediator in the continuation of Chinese musical modernity. Through diplomatic performances and cultural exchanges, the work played a significant role in China’s reengagement with the international community during the Cold War era. Ultimately, this study argues that the Yellow River Piano Concerto should beregarded not merely as a revolutionary musical work, but as a historical mediator that connected ideology, cultural modernity, and international diplomacy in modern China.
Key words: Yellow River Piano Concerto; Musical Modernization; Sino-Western Musical Exchange
【原文下載】【Download PDF】
WeChatHotline
