The International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM), in cooperation with the Asian Composers League (ACL), organized the World Music Days Festival which was held for the first time ever in Hong Kong from the 22nd to the 30th of October 1989. It was the 62nd edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Music which is usually held in Europe every year. The 1990 Festival is scheduled for Angers in France. Other European cities are on the list for the following years.
This event was a milestone in view of the number of participating countries. There were forty countries taking part, from Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as other continents. The musical convergence and exchange between East and West was also of great importance.
During the week-long festival there were symphonic concerts by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and concerts by chamber music groups such as the 'Arditi String Quartet' and the 'Messiaen Quartet'. Seminars on the exchange between East and West were held, as well as conferences and reports on the performance of the Asian Composer League countries.
These conferences and seminars gave us useful information on what is happening in those countries, what has been done and also future perspectives. The role of tradition in any culture was discussed. However, tradition is not everything, it is just a reference and a starting point. Tradition should form the basis of new developments. Thus tradition should pave the way for the future, rather than being static.
We learned that in Australia, music schools are heavily supported by the Government; every Australian state has at least one philharmonic orchestra, one operatic company and a conservatory, not to mention the private music schools. In New Zealand there are four universities teaching music; the Government supports composers by ordering new works and also sponsors their performances. It also publishes those new works for release on fac-simile, or records them. Other countries also experienced outstanding developments in music. For example, the Philippines have thirteen music schools, of which four are universities. In Hong Kong there is the Academy for Performing Arts, featuring music, dancing, theatre and art technique courses, and two universities with music departments. Similarly, Taiwan and Japan are experiencing a great development in music terms, as one can gather from TV programmes, records, documentaries and concerts.
Portugal was represented by its official delegate, composer and pianist, Jorge Peixinho. Portugal was represented by the composition 'Contornos I' for clarinet and bass clarinet, by Isabel Soveral, which was performed by the Hong Kong Ensemble with great professionalism.
This week of exchanges between Eastern and Western composers, both young and old, gave us some clues; one of the most important is that currently avant-guard works tend to focus on ecumenical themes. To this end, the myth of music 'capitals' is now fading. This is a new trend whereby anywhere in the world good music can be composed and performed. It is also important to note that anywhere in the world positive results can be achieved and values of a universal standard can be produced, as long as authorities are willing to establish good conditions for music teaching and music development.
Macau's 2nd International Music Festival was held at the same time. It brought to us the 'Salzburg Camerata' and its renowned conductor and violinist, Sándor Végh.
There was quite a good Portuguese contingent of performers such as Jorge Moiano, Irene Lima, Helena Vieira, Adriano Jordão and António Vitorino de Almeida. Unfortunately, none of them was mentioned in the advertisements published in Hong Kong, nor on the TDM spot.
Jorge Moiano performed beautifully. He deserved a better reception because the hall where he played, the Leal Senado Hall, was almost empty despite being very small. A lot of invitations were given away but those who received them just did not turn up.
Irene Lima is one of the best Portuguese cellists but she was almost forgotten. Being the main soloist in the most important concert by the Peking Central Philharmonic Orchestra, the 'Friendship Concert', we cannot understand why her name was neither mentioned in the promotion material published in Hong Kong or on TDM spots.
In cultural terms, the impact of Portuguese music and culture in this region was negative. There were few Chinese among the audience, if we take into consideration that the Macau population is mainly composed of Chinese. However, we can very well accept this failure in cultural terms because one of the festival organizers stated that the festival was both a cultural and tourism event; it is also a social function intended to promote the Territory abroad.
The major attraction of the festival was 'Traviata'. We are of the opinion that this was wrong, as the major attraction should have been the 'Salzburg Camerata' as it was the best thing that happened during the festival. The performance of 'Traviata' was a disaster and we had the feeling that we had seen the performance of a Greek tragedy rather than a poignant drama, powerful and passionate, written by Alexandre Dumas and composed by a sound magician with Piave's libretto.
Christopher Newell's staging did not help either, although the best thing was placing the choir at the back of the stage, which supported the drama performed just in front of it.
Ileana Cotrubas is, of course, a great singer, but she is not in her peak form. At the end of Act II, as she was playing Violet, she experienced some breathing problems. But being an experienced singer she managed to hide those difficulties.
Fan Jing Ma, in his role as Alfred, gave us a good performance and he is definitely a tenor worth performing with Ileana.
The Peking Central Philharmonic Orchestra performed well, but it lacked flame and the dramatic elasticity that Verdi's worked demanded.
During the performance of Verdi's Traviata, it rained cats and dogs and this spoiled the show even further. The gymnasium roof is made of metal which caused a lot of noise, so much so that most of Act III was inaudible, especially when Violet, suffering from tuberculosis was lying in bed and singing in a weak voice.
Macau needs a concert hall to avoid this kind of problem. The organization has to resort to halls which have not been built for music concerts and therefore cannot offer ideal acoustic conditions.
Translated by José Vieira
* Graduated in Composition from the Conservatory of Music in Lisbon where he also studied violin, piano and viola.
He is the author of a collection of Timorese folk songs, symphonic and choral compositions, as well as various works for chamber groups. Violinist with the RDP's Symphonic Orchestra, composer, lecturer and music critic, and also head of the Music Department of the Macau Conservatory. He founded ICM's Choir, the Camões String Quartet and is responsible for all ICM's music courses.
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