중국 문화대혁명 시기의 음악과 정치: 피아노 협주곡 <황하>를 중심으로

Abstract

The Yellow River Piano Concerto is one of the China’s most influential piano concerto. It was composed collectively in 1969 during the Cultural Revolution in China, a period for China to reform by the idea of Mao Zedong. It influenced not only political issues, but also other aspects like arts in China. There was complete political control of music during the Cultural Revolution and only a few selected works were permitted to play. Composers attempted to mirror and reflect the reality of everyday life of peasants and working class, to arouse party spirit and nationalism. This paper examine how orchestral music under political power become an instrument of propaganda through analyzing the piano concerto Yellow River. The Theme and formal structure of The Yellow River Concerto basically originates from The Yellow River Cantata composed during the anti-Japanese war, a special period in Chinese history. Several folk music elements with pentatonic scales, and traditional musical instruments such as bamboo flute, pi-pa, erhu etc. are employed in this concerto. The content and representation of the work was not the same as the Yellow River Cantata. However, the function of these two works is similar which showed the national spirit of China in fighting against the enemy. In the most politically motivated last movement, there are insertion of two songs named The East is Red and Internationale, which are new materials for this concerto apart from the cantata. It guaranteed the revolutionary function of this piano concerto. The East is Red is a song to sing the praises of Mao. The theme is played by both wind instruments and piano. It followed by Internationale, which is the international communist anthem from the Soviet Union at that time. Such approach aims at promoting communist ideas in China by under the leadership of Mao. The piece ends with a coda which represents the celebration of the victory. The political and social aspects influence much on the composition technique, style and the choices of instruments and materials for the whole piece. It also has important function in promoting national ideas and reflecting the situation faced by China at that period of time. The Yellow River Piano Conerto is a prominent musical work that bears a great historical significance in the spiritual development of the nation reflecting the relation of music and politcs during the turbulent times in Chines history.