Ray Chen: 世界乐坛上一颗耀眼的小提琴新星

陈锐 (Ray Chen) 生于台湾，在澳洲成长，目前就读于美国寇蒂斯音乐学院，师从亚伦"罗桑德、林昭亮和保罗"坎特。

    陈锐从小就展现惊人的音乐天分，四岁开始学小提琴，八岁与昆士兰管弦乐团举行自己生平首次音乐会，十三岁便获得澳洲国家青年协奏曲大赛奖。 2008年他在英国曼纽因青少年小提琴比赛获得首奖， 2009年比利时伊丽莎白女王小提琴国际大赛上，陈锐更以优异沉稳的技巧和音乐性获得首奖。陈锐还曾与马林斯基交响乐团和亚塞拜然国家交响乐团等合作演出。(网上资料）


[说两句] 知道Ray Chen的名字还是前几个月在一本古典音乐杂志上简介了这位在台湾出生在澳大利亚长大的年轻小提琴家， 记得文章说到：大家注意了，这位来自澳大利亚的小提琴家非常不同凡响的，一直记住这个名字，想着去youtube去听听他的演奏，一直都没去，这一期的杂志有提到他， 还介绍他的最新唱片。还没去过他的音乐会，当我在youtube上听到Ray Chen演奏的琴声，琴声是这么古典，纯美，浪漫，微笑，富有歌唱性， 我的心不由自主地颤抖起来，他拉的这些曲子都是经典曲目，可好像却非常清新，弹掉古典曲目上蒙上的灰尘， 出来的声音不带一丝灰尘杂质。

Ray Chen说他四岁时父母给他买了一把吉他，他就把吉他放在肩膀上，当小提琴拉，就与小提琴结下了不解之缘，  听他的琴声好像也听到不同的元素，也有不同大师影子，我自己感觉他有些像Maxim Vengerov， 但又不完全是， 他自己也说希望吸收众家之长， 有位音乐家说过（记不得名字了）：如果别人说你的演奏很像谁，那是一种失败（大意是这样），Ray Chen 就是Ray Chen， 他不是 Maxim Vengerov， 但是Maxim Vengerov对他的评价非常高，Maxim Vengerov是比利时伊丽莎白女王小提琴国际大赛的评委，赛后立即安排与Ray Chen合作，Maxim Vengerov说. "Ray has proven himself to be a very pure musician with great qualities as a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness. He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter."

俺作为乐迷，也是音盲，听音乐是靠感觉和嗅觉的（眼睛也帮忙的），不过最近我怎么有这个感悟？不知道对不对 ：优秀的演奏家光靠琴技，艺术想象表达能力还是不够，他她还需要有一个创造美好感情的内心世界， 后者有天生的成分，也受信仰，生活练历，知识背景等等影响。有的演奏家的琴技很高超，看上去也很会表达的样子，听上去也很好，但音乐却打动不了观众的心，就算是大牌的演奏家的也不能保证每次演出都很成功吧，有一个美好的内心世界是不容易每天都能做到的，需要修炼，我们作为音乐听众是不是也得不断修理才能音乐共鸣呢？

我很高兴乐坛有这么一颗新星，不仅仅是他因为是华裔， 而是他的才华，他那感人至深的琴声， 喜欢他那张放在小提琴箱子里的那张小卡片：Smile From Heart ! 希望Ray Chen的琴声能永远让我们乐迷的心微笑！  


接受访谈



获奖仪式上

Interview with Queen Elisabeth winner Ray Chen （ZT)

http://www.violinist.com/blog/hugodepril/20096/10191/

Who is your current violin teacher? Are you currently in school, and if so, where? Who have been your most influential teachers, and in what way?

I currently study with Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I have also had many other influential teachers and supporters in my life such as David Cerone and Maxim Vengerov.

Is this your first competition? and Have you played/placed in or won any other competitions?

I have have attended many competitions some I have not been so fortunate in others more so, (like the 2008 International Menuhin Competition and more recently the 2009 International Young Concert Artists Management Auditions) however regardless of winning or losing they have all been great learning experiences in which have helped me become a better musician.

What made you decide to enter the Queen Elisabeth Competition?

I think it is safe to say that this is the biggest violin competition in the world and so around a year ago (May 2008), I decided I wanted to give it a shot, not knowing or expecting anything of course.

What was unique about this competition?

This competition is probably the most unique as well in the part where the 12 finalists are moved into isolation for a week with no outside communication (say goodbye to your cellphones, laptops, and radios) for a peaceful environment to learn a completely new piece of music that has never been seen by the public.

How did you prepare for this competition? Is it any different from preparing for a regular performance? Did you do anything special to prepare? What part of your preparation helped you the most in the end?

In preparing for this competition I was helped by my management and friends who gave me many opportunities for run-out recitals. I think it is important not to treat it differently from any "regular" performance (which should be treated with just the same amount of preparation and dedication!) because you don't want to create more pressure than you need. There is enough of that already here!

What were you thinking when you were in solitary confinement? How did you keep your focus?

At first I was quite unnerved by the thought of spending a week in solitude but as soon as I stepped into the hallway of the Chappelle all feelings of unease vanished as I was warmly greeted by my fellow competitors. We had so much fun over the weekend and it was very sad as the days went on where 2 more people left every day.

For example, what was the most challenging thing about the new piece? Technique? Musicality? (CHO Eun-Hwa: "Agens" - work for Violin and Orchestra (Grand Prize Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition for Composition 2008 - Sabam Prize)

I will talk about the new piece that was given to us in the final round:

My first impression of "Agens" was that it was impossible. How could somebody write such technically difficult music and expect one to learn it in a week? Perhaps due to a combination of determination and fear of making a fool of myself on the stage I hurriedly set to work on the piece and for 3-4 days did not practice anything else. By day 5 I had finally completed learning the notes and was ready to add some personal interpretation to the piece. Day 6 was the rehearsal with orchestra and though the first time through was a bit shakey, I was able to do much better the 2nd time through (with much encouragement from the composer!)

Did you learn anything from the other contestants?

The other contestants were really friendly and helpful. We worked together in groups for "Agens" which was the new comissioned piece we needed to learn during the week.  Although we worked on the piece together it was great to see 12 different interpretations of the piece in the performances.

What was your favorite and most memorable part of the competition?

 My favorite memory of the competition was definitely the week at the Chappelle. It was a very special time, full of fun and games such as ping-pong, badminton, and soccer. More importantly it was the people that made it so enjoyable.

Now that the competition is over: if you could play any piece you wanted to, at this point, just for fun and the love of the violin, what would you play? Why?

There are still many pieces I would like to add to my repertoire such as Shostakovich Violin Concerto. I also would love to get into a few more Edgar Meyer duos!

What are your ambitions for the future? Has being in, and winning, this competition, influenced the way you are thinking about what you want to do in the future?

I want to continue working hard to attain even higher levels because I believe that as long as you have the mentality to find the "best way possible" to do everything then you will always improve. That isn't to say that you shouldn't be happy however! Heifetz was never satisfied with a single one of his performances, yet he is as close to perfection as there ever was.

 

[nslee]

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