Ma Sicong - Symphony No. 2 (1958-59) [馬思聰，第二交响曲]

Symphony No. 2 (1958-59)

I. Allegro agitato -
II. Adagio maestoso -
III. Allegro

The second symphony of Chinese composer and violinist Ma Sicong (1912-1987), whose name is sometimes also rendered as Ma Sitzon. A native of Heifeng in Guangdong province, Ma became one of the first of his compatriots to become a professional violinist when he followed his older brother's example and traveled to France at the age of eleven to study music at the conservatories of Nancy and Paris. His skill as a violinist and composer of violin music became legendary and he was known in China as the "King of the Violinists". After the People's Republic of China was established, Ma became the director of the China Central Conservatory of Music. In 1958, he served on the jury of the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (that was Van Cliburn's annus mirabilis). However, when the Cultural Revolution broke out in 1966, Ma and his colleagues at the conservatory fell into disfavour for teaching and playing Western-style classical music; they were all rounded up and sent to a reeducation camp, and their families were harassed by authorities. In 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong, after which they settled in the United States permanently. Ma remained in exile for the rest of his life.

Ma's Second Symphony was composed in 1958-59, and ostensibly, it takes as its subject the struggles of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The composer claimed that there is a connection between his music and the poem "Loushan Pass" by Mao Zedong; however, the music can be also interpreted abstractly rather than programmatically. The vigorous first movement makes use of the Phrygian mode and it is in a fairly traditional sonata form. The second theme is derived from "Tian Xin Shun", a folk song from north Shaanxi. After reaching a climactic moment of great intensity, the music transitions smoothly into the slow, sombre second movement, which bears some resemblance to a funeral march; it is an expression of mourning for fallen comrades-in-arms. However, the battle theme soon emerges again as the Army returns to the fray. The third and final movement is jubilant and lively, as the Army celebrates its victory. At one point the soldiers begin dancing the yangge, a popular rural folk-dance. In the end, a grand coda introduces a new heroic march theme that brings the work to a close.

Conductor: Cao Peng
Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra