He/Chen: 'The Butterfly Lovers'; Lu Siqing & the Beijing Symphony Orchestra 梁祝小提琴协奏曲; 吕思清, 北京交响乐团

Live from the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China
Flute Solo: Nikola Todor Atanasov
Cello Solo: Oleg Vedernikov
Flute Solos: 00:10 03:55 20:51 25:54
The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (梁祝小提琴协奏曲 or just, 梁祝) is one of the most famous orchestral works of Chinese music. It is an orchestral adaptation of an ancient legend. The concerto is in one movement, but is broken up into seven distinct sections. Each tells a different part of the story of the Butterfly Lovers. Some of the melodies come from the Chinese Opera of the same name and from traditional Chinese folk songs. The solo violin of the concerto is symbolic of Zhu Yingtai, the story's protagonist, and the cello part is symbolic of Liang Shanbo, her lover.
Written for the western style orchestra, the Concerto features a solo violin sometimes using traditional Chinese techniques of playing a stringed instrument, traditional pentatonic scales and many Chinese melodies, chord structures and patterns. This gives the piece a distinctive "Chinese" sound, though it uses tonal harmonies.
The Concerto was written in 1959 by two Chinese composers, He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, while they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
I. Adagio Cantabile 01:17
This melody comes from a Chinese folk song of the Yellow River (Huanghe), and tells the story of Zhu Yingtai's childhood. In the Eastern Jin dynasty, women were not allowed to go to school. Yingtai does her best to persuade her parents to send her to school and finally is able to attend classes but in disguise as a man. So, on the road to Hangzhou for her studies, Zhu meets Liang for the first time, disguised as a man. As the first buds of love begin to blossom in Zhu, Liang is unaware that his new best friend is in fact a lady. A short violin cadenza expresses Zhu's joy of her and Liang's oath of fraternity. 04:10
II. Allegro 05:03
The orchestra begins the next section in E major, the violin entering with a fast and jovial melody, representing Zhu and Liang's busy three years of school.
III. Adagio assai doloroso 07:30
As the end of their schooling draws near, Liang and Zhu grow sad as they realize that their time together is nearly over. Zhu invites Liang to visit 'his' family and to court 'his' sister. Liang doesn't know that Zhu is really inviting him to marry her, as she doesn't really have a sister and plans on revealing to him that she is a woman when he comes to visit her. Liang promises to visit Zhu, meet 'his' family and court 'his' sister, after he first goes to visit his own family and home.
IV. Pesante - Piu mosso - Duramente 10:33
When Zhu returns home, she finds that her father has promised her to the son of a rich family. The solo violin struggles against the forces of the orchestra, representing her protests against her father.
V. Lagrimoso 13:50
When Liang arrives it is revealed to him that Zhu is a woman and they express their love, years of friendship suddenly meaning a lot more than just camaraderie. The solo violin and cello solo play an emotional duet, one of the most famous and powerful sections of the work.
VI. Presto resoluto 16:28
The love duet between the two is replaced by anger as Liang learns that Zhu has been betrothed to another. The solo violin then launches into a brilliant and difficult passage, supported by the orchestra, but eventually returns to the original melody representing love, accompanied again by the cello solo. Liang becomes sick from heartbreak and sadness and dies as the duet draws to a close. The section ends with the suicide of Zhu as the solo violin ends with an abrupt high note.
VII. Adagio cantabile 20:35
The lovers' parts are united by a final section, with the solo violin and the orchestra redeveloping the opening theme to build to a triumphant climax. The concerto ends bittersweetly with a final melodic phrase from the solo violin joined by a flute solo.
In the legend, the most dramatic part happens on the day of Zhu's marriage, when the strangely strong winds prevent the wedding procession from passing the bridge where Shanbo's grave was. Yingtai stops to pay her respects at his grave. Suddenly, lightning and thunder split open the grave. Unwilling to get married with anyone except for Shanbo, Yingtai jumps into his grave without hesitation. Everyone is stunned as the grave reopens, and a pair of beautiful butterflies come out and fly away together, the lovers transformed, never to be separated again.