CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The)

Takako Nishizaki (Artist, Performer), Anonymous (Composer), Zhan-hao / Chen, Gang He (Composer), Jie Jiao (Composer), Youxian Ma (Composer), Mao Yuen (Composer), Yong-Cheng Qin (Composer), Hankun Sha (Composer), Kenneth Jean (Conductor), Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Takako Nishizaki
• Orchestra: Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Kenneth Jean
• Composer: Anonymous, Zhan-hao / Chen, Gang He, Jie Jiao, Youxian Ma, Mao Yuen, et al.
• Audio CD (July 28, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Marco-Polo
• ASIN: B0000045WN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most beautiful music in my life., July 19, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) (Audio CD)

I was born in Beijing, China and I grow up with this beautiful music. I do hope that everybody in the world could know that China also has such great composers and great music. I was in tears when I knew that my husband ordered me this CD as a birthday gift from Amazon.com since we couldn't find it from anywhere else in the States.

Butterfly Lovers was composed by Gang Chen and He Zhan Hao about 40 years ago in Shanghai based on Chinese traditional music and a beautiful but sad love story that happend in ancient China. Later it was adapted by many movies. It was also very sad that the Butterfly Lovers was banned by Chairman Mao during the Chinese Culture Relution.

Now I am very very happy that this beatiful music can be appreciated by people all over the world.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS THE BEST CD EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!, December 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) (Audio CD)

While this cd was painstakingly difficult to track down in stores, I finally got a hold of it by ordering it from the internet. I love every second of it! While it is performed by a western orchestra you can definitely tell the Chinese folk music influences especially in the "Butterfly Lovers". While the music itself is tuneful, beautiful, and romantic, the performance by Takako Nishizaki and Kenneth Jean conducting the Bratislavia Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra are idael. Don't hesitate on buying this awesome cd! This is a gem that comes once in a blue moon!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Competent? Yes. Extraordinary? No., February 4, 2001

By 

glengariffe (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) (Audio CD)

When the "Butterfly Lover Concerto" was first conceived, it was intended to distill the best of Western classical and traditional Chinese folk music into an impeccably paced, beautiful and passionate narrative drama. To bring out its full color and texture, Chinese folk musical instruments were brought into the orchestra. The solo violin is detrimental to the narrative. The concerto divides into "Gong Du" (meaning "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai studying together"), "Xiang Song" ("saying goodbye"), "Kang Hun" ("Zhu resisting the marriage arranged by her parents"), "Lou Tai Xiang Hui" ("Liang and Zhu meeting again in Zhu's home"), and finaly "Hua Die" ("Lovers transforming into butterflies"). Throughout the concerto the violinist is the voice of the lovers conveying their innocence, longing, passion and helplessness. In neither the Naxos or Marco Polo version could Ms. Nishizaki convey much emotion through her interpretation. Too many details, when emphasized and refined, would have significantly elevated the interpretation, were sadly neglected. Her playing, though technically excellent, sounded stiff and flat. The Bratislava Orchestra in the Marco Polo CD did not provide enough support for her. It sounded thin, perfunctory and all too timid. In contrast, the accompanying Shanghai orchestra in the Naxos CD did a much better job in maintaining the dialogue with the soloist, providing the desperately needed regional color to the interpretation. As for other pieces played by Nishisaki, I feel that she was competent, but far from extraordinary, in conveying the emotions, life and textures of the music.

To this date, Ms. Yue Ni Na, the first person ever to play the Butterfly concerto, remains its best interpreter. Technically superb, she has never let her virtuoso overshadow the most elements in the concerto: love, loss and devotion. Most amazingly she made it sound SO easy. Her attention to the details, breathtakingly exquisite and deeply gratifying, conveyed a broad range of emotions: I feel like I can hear the lovers murmur and say goodbye, the wills clashing and butterflies fluttering in the storm. It takes a lot of guts to display such vulnerability and intimacy in her interpretation.

In a recording from the late 50s (which I think is available on cassettes), traditional Chinese instruments helped achieve stunning dramatic effects. Here Ms. Yue also recorded the pieces which Ms. Nishizaki played in the Naxos and Marco Polo CDs. She brought much more vitality and intimacy to her music. You don't just hear the music, you see vivid images and hear laughters and shouts of joy.

I do not usually write such long reviews. But the "Butterfly Lover Concerto" is very close to my heart and I only want to give my opinion on the subject and hope the world would get to know the work by Ms. Yue Ni Na. Tapes of her music are usually available in Chinese bookstore and/or music stores. I sincerely hope whoever is interested in learning more about modern Chinese music also takes the time to discover Ms. Yue.