Chinese-born Quebecer Liu Fang, a virtuoso on the pipa (a traditional Chinese lute), has never before had ‘her’ concerto written by a fellow Quebecer. Now the artist who is sometimes called ‘the Empress of the pipa’ has done just that. The Concerto for pipa and orchestra, which also bears the title Dragon, was written by Christian Thomas, a composer trained at the Conservatoire de Québec and in Europe, where he has often worked. Thomas has made a name for himself in the field of stage and film music, amongst others. The use of a tonal language and a visually evocative stylistic palette in this work is thus easy to understand. The concerto is divided into four movements, as many stages in a dramatic scenario based on Chinese folklore. The Dragon of the title is illustrated through a light, airy dance in the first movement, The Dance of the Baby Dragon. The second movement, Time has gone, time has come…, delicately describes the dragon’s awakening to maturity, while the movement entitled The Guardian is the most agitated of the whole, but without appearing aggressive. Here, the dragon defends its territory against intruders in a score that offers the soloist some fine moments to show off her technique. The final movement, The Dragon Emperor, concludes the concerto on a positive and enthusiastic note, with a colourful celebration of the protagonist, who is now old and wise.
Listen to my colleague Alexandre Villemaire’s interview with composer Christian Thomas (in French) :
Aucune révolution sonore ni architecturale n’est à l’œuvre dans ce concerto interculturel, mais le plaisir tout simple des sens, éveillé par There’s no revolution in sound or architecture at work in this intercultural concerto, but the simple pleasure of the senses, awakened by music that’s engaging, strongly melodic and pleasantly evocative, is enough to make for a positive experience. The music plunges us into a pictorial Orientalism in which colour stereotypes are not taboo. The seduction comes from Christian Thomas’s sparing, relatively chamber-like writing, which avoids a grandiloquence that could have been heavy-handed. If you listen carefully, however, you will notice a discreet evolution in the orchestral writing over the course of the four movements. While it takes on a more typically pentatonic appearance at the beginning of the work, with the pipa resolutely traditional in character, the writing evolves towards a more assertive Western harmonic language, without losing the orientalist spirit of the ensemble. The solo instrument also seems to insert itself more intimately into the orchestra’s sound factory.
Liu Fang is undoubtedly a soloist of great stature, and she is solidly supported by the FILMharmonic Orchestra under the careful direction of Francis Choinière.
The world premiere of the Pipa Concerto ‘’Dragon‘’ will be given on Thursday 30 January 2025 at the Maison symphonique de Montréal, with the ‘’Butterfly Lovers’’ Violin Concerto and Stravinsky’s The Firebird also on the programme.
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