Cello in China – Chu Yibing and his "Super Cello" Festival
When I introduced the cello concerto Endless Way, I mentioned the talented cellist Chu Yibing. He is a world-renowned performer who has won awards in overseas music competitions in his early years. In 1986, at the age of 20, he won fourth place in the 42nd International Cello Competition in Geneva, Switzerland and the Special Performance Award for Swiss Works, which made him become the first Chinese entrant in the history of the great cello competitions. Later, he was appointed to be the Principal Cellist of the Basel Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Germany, and later the member of the Cologne Philharmonic Cellist. In short, he achieved fame at an early stage of life.
However, for Chu Yibing, it seems more interesting to experiment with a cello music ecology that belongs to his own country – China, in the second half of his life. After living abroad for 21 years, he returned to China in 2004. He was very aggressive and took up a few roles at one time, including professor at the Central Conservatory of Music and the founder of ensemble group China Cello Philharmonic. At the same time, he actively explored different occasions in different cities: on TV, public lectures, and so on. Chu described himself as a "Chinese ditch-oil-style musician", as he visited campuses, factories, rural areas, hospitals, etc. to perform for the public for free, which allowed his cello music to enter the public directly.
Chu Yibing deeply understands that stereotyped music education of the modern age, which focuses on exam scoring, cannot even cultivate students' real interest in cello music. This is the biggest obstacle to promoting cello music in China. Therefore, in 2016, he organized a "Super Cello" music festival, which was completely different from the usual concerts. He invited 62 cellists, various international orchestras, units from different international music academies and even AI technology companies around the world to participate in this four-day "Music Carnival". Some famous names were also presented there. For example, we can see Chinese representative, Qin Liwei, who is known as the Yo-Yo Ma of the coming age, Yang Wenxin, the first prize winner of the Geneva International Competition; meanwhile, some international new stars including Gavriel Lipkind, a young Cellist who won two best special awards in a row at the Ferman Cello Competition and also Julius Berger, Artistic Director of the Asiago Festival in Italy and Brussel Chamber Orchestra.
The "Super Cello" festival had a wide range of activities, including solo performances, ensembles, chamber music groups, as well as themed "Concerto Nights" and "Jazz Nights" that broke the tradition and showcased different aspects of the cello to Chinese audiences; In addition to musical performances, there are master classes to meet the students of the Academy, as well as exhibition lectures that engage the public with knowledge of the relationship between music and the cello. The program from morning to night only is ticketed with one fixed pass only, which allows the general audience to participate in a wide range of cello music activities; also, this large-scale music festival with a diversified focus on cello is not common across the globe indeed. The audience was even more eye-opening.
"Super Cello 2017" Performance Excerpt: Delibes: Lakmé - Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet)
https://v.qq.com/x/cover/mzc00200ko88oao/u0030p1pb7u.html
"Super Cello 2018" Performance Excerpt: Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1
https://v.qq.com/x/cover/mzc00200ko88oao/k00301pwpxo.html
After the outbreak of the covid in 2020, the "Super Cello" music festival has been temporarily suspended until now. But Chu did not stop. He continued to run his cello ensemble and explore opportunities for future newcomers. Perhaps his current cultivation will make the future "Super Cello" more dominated by Chinese local musicians, which will eventually fulfill his dream of developing cello music in China!