The Swiss-Chinese pianist Mélodie Zhao is a regular guest in the Camerata Nordica seasons both as a soloist, chamber musician and in brilliant piano solo recitals during our summer festival arranged by Öland Chamber Players.
Born in Switzerland, Mélodie spent her childhood in both Europe and China where she studied the piano and started performing at a very early age. Her career has been leading her to perform across the world with many of the greatest orchestras. Her discography is also impressive, reaching from the integral of Chopin and Lizst Etudes to the integral of Beethoven Piano Sonatas as well as two Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos.
This year she will return with an entire play-conduct program of piano concertos dear to her heart and in close relation to her life and career. The repertoire stretching from Mozart to Mendelssohn passing by the nowadays famous Chinese concerto Yellow River Huáng Hé xiézòuqǔ) credited to several contributing composers. Yellow River is based on the Yellow River Cantata composed in 1939, allegedly in a cave in just six days, during the Sino-Japanese war. The Cantata was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution but later rearranged by several people to the piano concerto in four movements we normally can hear performed now. In the late 70s the piece was once more banned in China but has since then been gaining some international reputation. Most famous maybe at the opening of the Olympics in 2008 when performed by Lang Lang.
The concerto has been reorchestrated by Mélodie for string orchestra and display four scenes/movements:
- Prelude: The Song of the Yellow River Boatmen
- Ode to the Yellow River
- The Wrath of the Yellow River
- Defend the Yello River
