George Gao, known across the world for his masterful erhu music, uses an upgraded erhu of his own invention, called a Shao Qin. His upgrades give the instrument a greater deal of range. (Photo: Chris Muise) 世界著名二胡大师高韶青和他独创的“韶琴二胡”。他设计改良后的韶琴二胡音域极广。
文/Chris Muise
译/Christine Qin Yang
单凭他那静谧的曲风，你难以想象这位世界闻名的音乐大师曾经也只是个顽皮的小孩。
今年秋季正直全球孔子学院建院十周年之际，高韶青先生被特邀前往哈利法克斯圣玛丽大学孔子学院参与庆典活动。在这里，这位世界公认的当今最优秀、最创新的二胡大师之一、现代二胡音乐的代表人物与《打开加东》分享了他的成长故事。
“我小时候太淘气了。老是和别的孩子打架，还总把自己弄得脏兮兮的。我记得有一天，我刚和别的孩子打完架，把自己弄的全身是伤。于是，我妈妈决定采取一些措施让我静下心来。” 高韶青回忆道。
高韶青的母亲是小学音乐教师，父亲是工程师，但对音乐极其热爱。于是，建议儿子学习一样乐器作为爱好便是理所当然的选择。高韶青后来觉得，这也可能是父母的良苦用心，让他在当时的大环境下逃脱靠出卖苦力吃饭的命运。
“我觉得当年父母有他们的想法，他们想教我一些音乐，让我不用下地干活。”高韶青回忆道：“就这样，我开始拉起了二胡。”
西方的读者可能对二胡不是很熟悉。二胡是一件中国传统弓弦乐器，演奏方式与大提琴有某些相似。高韶青从六岁开始学习二胡，之后他就读于上海师院附属中学，并加入北京民族乐团。如今，他已发展成为世界公认的当今最优秀的二胡演奏家之一。
高韶青于1991年移居加拿大，并开始在多伦多皇家音乐学院演奏及授课。在多伦多皇家音乐学院的时间里，他同时研习了钢琴等其它乐器，但二胡始终是他最拿手的乐器。
“大家都知道，想要成为一名出色的演奏家，你必须花费大量的时间练习。掌握一项乐器，需要时间，这是改变不了的事实。所以，无论怎样，我都得坚持下去。”高韶青笑着补充道：“幸运的是，我坚持着我的兴趣。”
这位在二胡演奏上造诣甚高的演奏家还有自己独创的二胡，并加入了自己名字的元素，将其命名为“韶琴二胡”。
“多年来，我一直在对韶琴二胡做改进。”高韶青告诉我们，普通的二胡是用蛇皮制成，但动物皮的缺点是不稳定，音色随着天气变化而变化，给演奏家带来很多困难。韶琴二胡的制作使用人造蛇皮，彻底解决了这个问题。他说：“正常二胡的音质已经很优美，这也是我保持二胡本来音色的缘由。但普通的二胡的音域以及音量还是有限的。”
他接着说，发明韶琴的另一个原因是为了消除人们对二胡的刻板印象，特别是在中国，人们总觉得二胡声听起来很凄惨。
“在我改进二胡以前，我的音乐总被局限在一个狭小范畴。”他回忆道：“我不希望大家认定二胡只能发出哭泣呜咽声。我希望做些事情，让大家重新认识二胡，认同它的声音也可以是悦耳的。”
虽然高韶青长期居住在加拿大，但过去这三年他一直在中国帮助上海视觉艺术学院发展他们的音乐项目。对这样的机会，他觉得很有意义。他很期待二胡带给自己的下一段奇妙旅程。
“我认为每个人都有自己的使命，如果你不认清自己的使命，即使你最后会成功，这个过程也会很艰难。”高韶青最后说道：“最重要的是认真过好每一天，因为人生实在太短暂了。你不能永远期待着明天，最重要的是当下。” (完)
You would never in a million years guess it from listening to his serene composures, but the career of world-class musician George Gao all began after getting into schoolyard fights as a child.
“I was a very naughty boy. I fought with other kids, and a lot of times, I just got all dirty,” says Gao, who spoke with Dakai Maritimes earlier this fall when he was in town to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the first Confucius Institute. “There was one day, I was all bruised, I was hit by some other kids. My mom said, ‘you know what, you should do something to be tamed.’”
His mother and father – an elementary school music teacher and an engineer with a love of music, respectively – convinced Gao to take up a musical instrument, which Gao believes they may have suggested as a way to avoid a future of heavy labour in the days of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution.
“I think my parents had the idea, to teach me a little bit of music, to avoid digging ground,” says Gao. “That’s how I started to play erhu.”
For readers who may not be familiar with the instrument, an erhu is a type of traditional Chinese fiddle, that is played while held vertically like a cello.
Gao began playing the erhu at the age of six, and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory Middle School and join the Ensemble of Traditional Music in Beijing. Today, he is arguably one of the most accomplished contemporary erhuists performing today.
Gao moved to Canada in 1991, to perform at the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, where he would perform and eventually teach. He studied piano and other instruments while at the Toronto Conservatory, but it was the erhu that he would go on to master.
“For an instrumentalist, everybody knows that you spend a lot of time practicing. To master an instrument, it takes a long time, and it’s hard to change. So, like it or not, I’m stuck with it.” says Gao with a laugh. “The thing is, I think I’m lucky to be stuck with something I like.”
Gao has gone so far as to invent his own version of the erhu, an instrument he calls the Shao Qin, or “beautiful instrument.” He drew the name in part from his own Chinese name, Shaoqing.
“After many years, I have upgraded it,” says Gao, who uses synthetic snake skin on his instrument, the sound of which is not affected by weather, unlike real snake skin. “The regular erhu, the sound is wonderful, so that’s why my erhu keeps the original sound. But the original erhu, the range is limited, and the volume is limited.”
Gao says one of the reasons he designed the Shao Qin to be more versatile is to dispel the stereotype, especially in China, that the erhu can only create sad sounds.
“Even before upgrading my erhu, my music was already totally out of this little stereotype,” says Gao. “I don’t want people to think erhu is only capable of crying, of whining. I want to do something more interesting…the erhu really can sing.”
While Gao considers Canada his home, he has been living in China the last three years, helping the Shanghai Visual Arts University develop their music program. Gao is excited to be teaching in China, and is interested to see where the path he’s paved with playing the erhu will take him next.
“I think everybody has their own destiny. If you go against the flow, it’s hard, even though you might succeed,” says Gao. “What I’m focusing on is making the best of every day, because I think life is very short. You don’t want to always be hoping to have something tomorrow – you want to do something today.” (End)
