The Yellow River Piano Concerto (黃河鋼琴協奏曲)
Based on The Yellow River Cantata (黃河大合唱) by Xian Xinghai (洗星海) (1905-1945)
arranged by Yin Chengzong (殷承宗), Chu Wanghua (儲望華), Sheng Lihong (盛禮洪) and Liu Zhuang (劉莊 ).
00:00 1. Prelude. The Song of the Yellow River Boatman ( 黃河船夫曲)
"The Song of the Yellow River Boatmen" describes the momentum of the terrifying waves of the Yellow River and uses the rapid chromatic crescendo and long rolls of the timpani and cymbals typical of the revolutionary operas.
03:44 2. Ode to the Yellow River (黃河頌)
The original heroic tenor solo melody of the "Ode to the Yellow River" is sung in praise of the history and presence of the Yellow River, signifying the cultural pride of the Chinese. This broad Chinese recitative is supported by the deep and rich timbre of the cello, and is considered as an example of the nationalistic style.
08:11 3. The Wrath of the Yellow River (黃河憤)
"The Wrath of the Yellow River", originally sung by a soprano solo, begins with a dizi solo accompanied by the piano. This is obviously inspired by the Jiangnan melody of the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto, but rewritten in the style of northwest Shanbei folk idioms. In the third movement, the piano brings out the melody taken from the "Ballad of the Yellow Rivers", originally a mellow number sung by female chorus. We then hear the "Lament at the Yellow River" taking over for this movement.
15:10 4. Defend the Yellow River (保衛黃河)
As the finale of this piano concerto, the theme is arranged into a polyphonic canon. It is also apparent that the tune from "The East is Red" is persistent throughout the entire movement; among the various versions of the Yellow River Concerto that are currently in circulation, including Yin Chengzong's film recording, we can hear a recapitulation of the theme of "Defending the Yellow River" played canonically against the strings after the climatic tutti of "The East is Red". Then the first phrase of "The East is Red" is played by the trumpet, and tightly followed by the final phrase of the "Internationale", as an example of thematic writing huan wei (換尾; literally "Changing the end") that is often found in traditional Chinese music.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River_Piano_Concerto)
Yundi Li (李雲迪), Piano
China NCPA Concert Hall Orchestra (國家大劇院音樂廳管弦樂團)
Zuohuang Chen (陳佐湟), conductor