INTERNATIONAL violin superstar Susanne Hou is to perform a piece of music that looks set to warm its way in the hearts of her audience.
Her stop in Durban during a month-long tour begins with a programme presented by the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre tonight where she’ll perform with South African pianist, Bryan Wallick.
On Valentine’s Day Hou will woo the audience at the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra’s (KZNPO) Valentine’s Concert, with what sounds like a very intriguing piece of music about love. She’ll perform The Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto by Chinese composers Chen Gang and He Zhanhao.
In an interview with Tonight Hou spoke about this piece, what she loves most about it and why it holds a special place in her heart: “It is a story that has been told for thousands of years, it connects us with people of a different time, and it challenges our hearts to feel more deeply and allows us to be more vulnerable to love. It has a very personal and bittersweet meaning to me because my father went to school (Shanghai Conservatory) with the composers and was originally asked to make the first performance-recording of this piece, but unfortunately destiny was not in his favour – the Cultural Revolution began and all Western classical music was banned. He never did make that recording and now I must give a voice to this piece, even when I know it is his voice that should be heard.”
She said this score was the first of its kind in China, scored for a Western orchestra.
“It became the ‘national anthem of the People’ (one billion in China) after the Cultural Revolution ended and the ban on Western classical music was lifted. It represents a tragic but beautiful forbidden love story, and now also the freedom of expression for everyone!” she said.
Hou said the beauty of the piece is that even though the audience might be hearing it for the first time, everyone knows this story and music is a universal language.
“My only wish is for my audience to come to the concert with an open heart so that we may embark on this new yet familiar journey together, share a moment of our lives, and walk away after the concert in different directions, but all with warmth in their hearts.”
• Tonight’s programme with the Friends of Music: Brahms, Schubert, Prokofiev, Danna and Saint-Saëns. call 031 202 7822.
• Daniel Boico will conduct the KZNPO’s Valentines Concert at 7.30pm. Works by Tchaikovsky and Puccini. Susanne will perform The Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto. R150 to R350 at Computicket.