The Historical Development And Contemporary Practice Of Chinese Orchestra

As an important part of Chinese music culture,Chinese instrumental music is one of representative voices of Chinese traditional music.After thousands of years of accumulation,it has formed its own unique musical form and aesthetic mode.With the process of modernity,Chinese instrumental music has entered a new era together with Chinese culture.In the blending and collision of "tradition" and "Modernity",it has changed the form and aesthetic dimension of Chinese instrumental music under the traditional mode.Chinese Orchestra —— a new type of large-scale ensemble,was born.At the beginning of the 20 th century,the birth of Chinese Orchestra marked the beginning of the modern transformation of Chinese traditional music.The modern transformation of Chinese traditional music is a long process.In the past hundred years,the most abundant and creative practice was in the period after the reform and opening up since the 1980 s.The practice of contemporary and gradually mature Chinese Orchestra naturally becomes an important part of the modern transformation of Chinese traditional music.Its performance not only enriches the content of the modern transformation of Chinese traditional music,but also constantly reshapes the new aesthetic way of Chinese music in the practice of contemporary Chinese orchestral music.Through the analysis and research of contemporary important practical cases,this paper further verifies the modern transformation path of Chinese music aesthetics and its historical and practical significance.As an advanced form of Chinese instrumental ensemble,it is essentially a pioneering form of music,performed by what is commonly known as Chinese orchestral music.Its beginnings and development are always alternating between heritage and innovation."Creativity" and "futurism" have always been the driving force and essential characteristics for the sustainable development of Chinese orchestral music throughout its nearly 100-year history of transmission and development.In the past century,Chinese Orchestra has undergone two important stages of development: "Reference and Improvement" and "Reinvention",which are clearly distinct but also interactive.The so-called "Reference and Improvement" is the initial creation period when Chinese music was strongly influenced by Western and other national music in the world,and began to absorb and learn from Western music composition and performance forms,forming the initial creation period of when Chinese traditional instrumental culture and Western music were borrowed from each other and moderately fused;"Reinvention" is the stage of rational development where Chinese music enters into a conscious renewal.The dissertation focuses on the combination of conceptual,technical and organizational performance forms based on the vertical lineage of the inheritance and development of Chinese Orchestra and the analysis of the cultural composition of Chinese orchestral music.The dissertation selects the typical contemporary samples of Chinese Orchestra practice “Shanghai Odyssey-the BUND”and “Traditional Operatic Circle” as the specific research object,through the perspective of concept and technology,deep inside of artworks,from the aesthetic concept,the composition of the work and its relationship with the stage,the orchestra’s expressive and other factors,and combination with instruments,musical language,orchestra mode.The research is progressive and interrelated,revealing its modernity in the contemporary conscious innovation practice of Chinese orchestral music.The research takes the orchestra conductor as the first aesthetic subject of the interpretation of the "re-creation" of the Chinese orchestral music,and discusses the research from the aspects of the conductor’s personalization of the work,shaping the new timbre,creating the new performance style,etc.The research focus on the connection between classical aesthetic experience and contemporary aesthetic consciousness,in the plasticity and fission of contemporary Chinese Orchestra,presenting Concept —— Art form —— Composition —— Performance process,it highlights the new expression of music aesthetics in the innovative practice of contemporary music.Chinese orchestral music marks a new era in the development of Chinese music,from aesthetic concepts to creative interpretation of content innovation and performance practice.In the contemporary era of globalization and pluralism,we can further establish our unique artistic value and clear cultural identity,enter the world of music culture with a contemporary expression of clarity and openness.