On the evening of November 7th, a lecture on the background of the creation and interpretation of The Butterfly Lovers was held at the Lecture Hall 1002 of the Zonghe Building, Tongji University. It was one of the theme lectures focusing on ‘Valuing Art Classics and Promoting Cultural Confidence,’ hosted by the Student Art Troupe of Tongji University. The lecturer was HE Zhanhao, a renowned composer and conductor who composed the violin concerto and also a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Approximately 150 students from different colleges attended his lecture.
Recalling his experience in the countryside to support agricultural production in his youth, HE talked about his background of composing The Butterfly Lovers. He said The Butterfly Lovers was to serve the majority of Chinese workers and peasants, for they held a strong affection to the music of the Chinese nation. It is the fundamental duty of Chinese folk musicians to adapt the world music to the Chinese nation while presenting the Chinese nation to the world. Moreover, the success of The Butterfly Lovers is also a manifestation of ‘cultural confidence.’ Still, numerous treasures are yet to be exploited in Chinese folk songs and operas, necessitating continued efforts to be made by Chinese folk musicians to inherit the works of the antecedents while refreshing traditional Chinese music.
Tongji University will invite masters from other artistic fields, such as dancing, drama and music to hold lectures in this semester.
