2 Musical Events Milestones in the Cultural Life of Macau
1^ST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL OF MACAU, 1987 25^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE S. PIO X ACADEMY OF MUSIC

The first series of recitals commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the S. Pio X Academy of Music, held from the 12^th of September to the 22^nd of November, 1987, and the I^st International Music Festival of Macau, held from the 4^th to the 31^st of October, were indeed two milestones in the cultural life of the Territory. Although much has still to be said about these two events, writing about them is a difficult task when the article is to be published in a cultural magazine which only includes those who are most distinguished in the Arts.

This is not to say that the subject is any less interesting. I shall divide my attention into the following areas:

- Macau's musical history

- The S. Pio X Academy of Music

-The I. C. M. (Cultural Institute of Macau) and its role in nurturing and spreading classical music

-The 1^st International Music Festival of Macau

-Comments on the future

MACAU'S MUSICAL HISTORY

One of the conclusions commonly reached when examining the Portuguese cultural presence in Macau is that the Territory has, largely, ignored classical music.

Although this is a groundless statement, it remains convincing. Concert halls are almost empty whenever concerts or recitals are held and the media say hardly a word before, during or after those events. AS regards musical development, Macau is still in the primitive stages. There is almost no written documentation on what has been done over the last four hundred years.

While these objections are not wholly incorrect, the reader must appreciate that I will not adopt this approach. Neither the length nor the purpose of this article allow a discussion of these objections.

I first came to Macau thirty two years ago for a three-year stay. At that time the musical life was more restricted, more selective and perhaps richer. Its exclusive nature was due to lack of Government support. Artistic activities were promoted by sponsors who favoured either western or Eastern music. Thus, ill order to serve their own interests, organizers held many of these events either at the sponsors' houses for their guests or at the clubs of the time for the club members. Public events were very few but of good quality. All initiatives in this area were the responsibility of the Macau branch of the "Ciclo Cultural de Música" (Cultural Music Series) which was founded in the fities. This branch managed to attract some of the most important international performers to Macau. The Chinese population could also enjoy outdoor performances from several strolling opera and dance groups. Macau's musical scene was further enriched by the value given, in the most prominent families, to a musical training for their children. Almost every big house had a piano and whenever locals got together they were able to listen to chamber music. They were taught by private teachers. At the time, l felt that Macau's musical culture was similar to that of any provincial Portuguese town. I also thought there was a certain similarity between the teaching and learning of both Western and Eastern music. The Europeans, in) accordance with their cultural heritage, studied and enjoyed western music, the Chinese did the same with Eastern music and the Macanese, with an ear for both musical styles, generally followed their family's preferences which in turn often depended on the background of the particular family.

Thirty years on I have found that a somewhat contradictory development has taken place. There are both negative and positive features. Of the former, classical music seems to have gone out of fashion with the result that pianos and musical training are no longer to be found in many homes. Also, potential sponsors are less enthusiastic possibly because they think gambling contracts and taxes are now more profitable. Of the latter, there have been, in addition to a healthy intervention in the cultural life by the Government, several other improvements. Music is now open to all social classes, Hong Kong's cultural development is influencing that of Macau and the Chinese community is showing much more interest in western music than they did when I was first here. In short, Macau's musical history is not so different from that of Portugal at present. In addition to this it must be noted that more Chinese people are studying and therefore appreciating Western music.

THE S. PIO X ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND THE 25^Th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

In order to identfy the people who have played an important part in the musical development referred to, we must look to the group of people who founded the S. Pio X Academy of Music twenty five years ago. I shall not give their names because, in spite of their collective modesty, we all know them. Instead I shall highlight their goal: "To give the youth of Macau, both Portuguese and Chinese, a musical training based on the syllabuses of internationally acclaimed schools of music, particularly that of Lisbon's Conservatory of Music".

This small group, of which only Father Áureo remains, began with only a small amount of money borrowed from the Bishop of Macau. With this money they managed to buy three second-hand pianos. The Academy then opened its doors to the young people of Macau on the 2^nd of October, 1962.

Thanks to strong determination and the indispensable support of Macau's governors (a necessary aid to keeping the fees low), the Academy has reached its 25^th anniversary.

Nowadays the Academy has thirteen teachers and some office staff in addition to the Director who has held that post since the opening of the school. It offers training in violin and piano to around one hundred and twenty students.

The inclusion of the definition "'the youth of Macau" in the group's charter of intention has been the key to the lasting success of the Academy. By opening its doors to all, which has meant giving financial assistance to some students, the Academy has opened the world of Western music to Chinese youngsters.

The programme for the 25^th anniversary celebrations illustrates yet another principle in the charter: "to give emphasis to the syllabus of the National Conservatory of Music". Hence Portuguese music, composers and performers constitute the major part of the programme.

At the beginning of this article I stated that these celebrations were a milestone ill the cultural life of Macau. This is not to say that they should be compared to the other milestone mentioned. The significance of the anniversary celebrations is due to their role in musical education. For Father Áureo and his colleagues the most gratifying moment came on the 2^nd of October when their work was publicly acknowledged by Mr. Carlos Melancia, the Governor, who honoured the Academy.

Like any birthday party, this celebration was open to friends and family. Friends included conductor Filipe de Sousa and singers Elsa Saque, Filomena Amaro, Fernando Serafim and Oliveira Lopes, all of whom had come from Lisbon, also the conductor Simão Barreto and members of the Chamber Orchestra, the Camões Quartet and the Polyphonic Choir Society from Macau, from Hong Kong came Professor David Gwilt, the pianist Margaret Lynn, the Lugard Woodwind Quintet and the student instrumental group from the Faculty of Music in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and last but not the least was Professor Ronald Woodcock from Australia. Those guests with their repertorial gifts made this a brilliant musical event. According to some people they took some of the shine away from the 1^st International Music Festival but I would stress once more that the original significance of this event, that of celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of a music school, remains unchanged.

The presence of such a large and talented group of people over the two months enabled us to hold eighteen events in two months. These can be divided into fifteen music recitals (four of which were given by teachers and students of the Academy), a recording session, an exhibition of manuscripts and musical publications and a Mass. These guests merit a recognition of the gifts they offered to Macau and its music lovers.

They brought with them the scores of works by many Portuguese composers, namely Filipe de Sousa, Padre Áureo de Castro, Cláudio Carneiro, Frederico de Freitas, Artur de Santos, Luís de Freitas Branco, Fernando Lopes Graça, J. Croner de Vasconcelos and Simão Barreto, here listed in their programmed order. The conductors and performers added to the sense of occasion by giving some of these works their world premier. Among these works were "10 Novos Sonetos de Camões" ("10 New Sonnets by Camões") by Lopes Graça, "Três Canções de Remadores" ("Three Rowers' Songs") by Filipe de Sousa and Simão Barreto's pair of songs from "Clepsidra", "Viola chinesa" ("The Chinese Viol") and "Ao Longe os Barcos de Flores" ("Distant Flower Boats"). This amount of premiers would be a rare event even in Portugal and thus they contributed enormously to the cultural heritage of both Portugal and Macau.

As regards the remaining offerings we should consider the outstanding recitals given on the 22^nd and the 30^th of September which comprised Portuguese music only. The first recital recital was almost entirely composed of works based on Camões' sonnets. The latter was also almost entirely composed of works by one author - Camilo Pessanha's "Clepsidra". The performers paid homage to Macau by including works connected with two authors whose lives were linked to Macau. This was indeed a nice gesture which was complemented by the poet Couto Viana who, in a special appearance at the recital on the 30th, gave a brief introduction inspired by the triangle Pessanha - Macau - "Clepsidra".

As regards the guests, although all of them deserve to be mentioned, I shall name only the two composers who were present. Filipe de Sousa deserves praise for having organized the participation of the four singers as well as coordinating the respective concert programmes. He also lent the I. C. M. (Cultural Institute of Macau) the manuscripts and musical publications for the exhibition. He was the accompanist in all the song recitals and he directed the recording session (here we should add the name of Carlos Seixas to those of the composers whose works were heard). Finally, as one of our best composers, he wrote some of the works performed, namely the "Three Rowers' Songs", taken from the folklore of the Azores in the eighteenth century. These songs gave an idea both of how rich Portuguese folk music is and of the composer's talent.

The second composer worthy of a special mention is conductor Simão Barreto. He was involved in wide range of activities such as playing the viola in the Camões Quartet, directing and performing in the group called "players from the I. C. M.'s (Cultural Institute of Macau) Chamber Orchestra", and directing Macau's Polyphonic Choral Society. He also helped coordinate the exhibition of manuscripts and musical publications held in the Library of the Leal Senado. Simão Barreto contributed two works for choir, voice and instruments based on Camilo Pessanha's "Clepsidra”. In addition to this he composed "Sequência Thei" ("Thei Sequence"), an arrangement of traditional songs from Timor for soprano and orchestra. This was premiered on the 30th of September.

One guest was noticeable by its absence - the public of Macau. One should not rush to any conclusions, however, as this in no way detracted from the 25th anniversary celebrations. I am sure that these celebrations will continue to be held well beyond the period of fifty years of special administration that Macau will experience.

^^ THE I. C. M. (CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF MACAU) AND ITS ROLE IN NURTURING AND SPREADING CLASSICAL MUSIC I began this article by discussing Macau's musical history in order to stress the importance of the S. Pio X Academy of Music in this evolution. Established in 1982, the I. C. M. (Cultural Institute of Macau) is the next most important body in this development. Although it has not been functioning for long it has had an important role in the field of classical music. As well as giving financial support for musical training, the I. C. M. has brought many renowned artists to Macau and it intends to continue this trend in the future. The I. C. M. has its own Chamber Orchestra, Chinese Instruments Orchestra and gives support to the Camões String Quartet, the Choral Society and other local groups performing in Macau on a regular basis. The I. C. M. must therefore be linked to the two milestones being discussed. It was involved in the first by the support it gives to spreading music. As regards the second, even though the Festival was produced under the direct supervision of the Governor of the time, Mr. Pinto Machado, the I. C. M. had established a favourable situation which paved the way for this kind of event. ^^ THE 1^ST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL OF MACAU The 1^st International Music Festival of Macau was a significant event for all. As its title implies, its purpose was to pay homage to the three components of Music: composers, works and performers. If another festival of this kind is to be held, it should certainly be described as the 2nd in the same high quality series. However, to designate this festival as "international" is somewhat inaccurate. Given that music has neither one nationality nor one language to call it international implies that the actual organization was international and that Macau was merely chosen as a venue. This was not the case and I believe that the festival, in accordance with other festivals abroad, should have been called just "The Macau Music Festival". The objective would have been the same but there would have been no implication that the organization was in need of aid from abroad in order to hold the festival. The festival paid tribute to musicians with works of twenty five composers: Jolly Braga Santos, Ravel, Dvorak, Ho Zhan-huo and Chong Gong, Rossini, Mozart, Finzi, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Schumann, Scriabine, Beethoven, Verdi, J. Strauss Jr., Bizet, Puccini, Mascagni, Bellini, Handel, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, J. S. Bach and Pergolesi. Forty works of these composers, either in complete versions or extracts, were performed with the exclusion of encores. These works included overtures, concertos, chamber music, operas, cantatas and oratorios. They were performed by ten top class musicians, a symphony orchestra and a chamber group. The pianists Adriano Jordão and Pedro Burmester came all the way from Portugal along with the conductor Silva Pereira. The violinist Kung Zhao-hui, the conductor Yuan Fang and the Radio Symphony Orchestra came from the People's Republic of China. The Rumanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas, the Italian mezzosoprano Lucia Valentini-Terrani, the Dutch baritone Max van Egmond, the Austrian pianist Ingrid Haebler, the German cellist Peter Dauelsberg and the Goldberg Chamber Group with their conductor Malcolm Layfield from England all participated. Had these performers come as representatives of their home countries this would truly have been an international festival. As it is, however, this festival was still a great achievement for Macau. One could argue that more Portuguese composers should have been included in the programmes, or that there should not have been an emphasis on presenting works of Portuguese composers or that there should have more Portuguese performers. There are several other criticisms which could be made about the organization, the designation of jobs in the initial stages, and the limited nature of some of the concerts and the cost-effectiveness of the whole festival, but absolutely no comment can be made about the musical quality. I must disagree with those who said that the money used for the festival would have been better spent on aid to the poor. This is tantamount to an attack on Culture and a comparison can not be made between the two given that, under ideal circumstances, there should be money enough for both. It is a question of budgeting and really the only point which can be discussed is whether the I. C. M. would have been a better organizing body as it employs people who live in Macau and is thus sensitive to the tastes and requirements of the public here. This, however, is a problem for those who have organized ard will in the future organize this festival. At present musical training in Macau consists of some basic education in primary school and the courses offered by the S. Pio X Academy of Music which are, as we have seen, biased towards a training in violin and piano. There is still a lot to be done before young people can be offered an educational system which allows them to complete the studies necessary before becoming a professional musician including instrumental and vocal training, composition, musical education and musical sciences. It is too early yet to make any comment on the future of music festivals in Macau. Some may say that they have been thrust upon Macau prematurely, and that the public is not ready for this kind of event. It will always be difficult for Macau to attract international interest when it is possible for music lovers to see major performers on any stage, either live or on television. Now you can enjoy first class performances in your own home such as the last concert of this festival which was broadcast to ten countries. There is also the possibility of turning this into a competitive festival with judges, prizes and publicity to attract musicians and composers. There are two drawbacks to this, however. Firstly, the public tends to prefer familiar works. Secondly, it could detract from the artistic purity of the festival. Also, this could be made into a truly "international" festival with the participation of performers from several countries meeting with the sole objective of making music or raising funds for an organization such as U.N.I.C.E.F. similar to what took place at the closing ceremony of the 1^st Festival. The increased television coverage could well finance the costs inherent in such an event. I think that the best solution is just to keep the present system, making some necessary adjustments and encouraging the local population to think of this as a cultural event which is intended to give mental rather than financial stimulation. If the objective of the Festival really is to attract the attention of the international community, then what is most important for the future is to make the people of Macau known for their appreciation of music. Translated by José Vieira We should bear in mind that in Macau the majority of the population is Chinese so therefore the Festival should be better publicized. The difference between Chinese culture and ours is so great that there is a mutual lack of understanding which must be overcome. Music is one of those art forms which can reach people more easily and move them. However, if the music is to be properly appreciated, there must be more information beforehand to facilitate a better understanding of the works and the respective interpretations. In my opinion there should be explanatory lectures and concerts on the works of composers such as Bach, Puccini and Verdi so that everyone can learn about the works and culture of the great masters. Macau has a very small Portuguese community. The Chinese community is much larger and efforts should be made to teach them about Western music so that they can appreciate and enjoy it. The Chinese are a very cultured people and they love music. We should try to get their support for events such as the International Music Festival.

Lucia Valentini-Terrani

The International Festival offered me the chance to visit Macau. It is wonderful for a singer to have the opportunity to visit the Orient where the people and culture are so different. I like facing a new audience. This is a very personal and special feeling. When I was first approached to come and perform in Macau I agreed immediately.

I think the Festival had a very promising start. You can always tell when there is quality and I noticed it at once. Everything went very well: the chamber ensemble from England, the Beijing orchestra, the performers, the presentation of the Gala Night by the great actress, Audrey Hepburn, and the two singers.

Undoubtedly this was the best way to start what is intended to be a long series of International Music Festivals in Macau. It is very significant for Macau to have a musical event of this quality. The first steps have now been taken to make this into a top class festival and all that remains is to improve on it every time.

Often people don't understand opera because they lack a sound knowledge of music. It tends to attract the cream of society. In the Opera Gala Night we had all that was needed: the two works chosen were fabulous, the large audience was enthusiastic and happy, the orchestra and the singers were perfectly in tune, the television company transmitted the concert live. All in all it was very well done.

We must recognize when things are well done. I am very self-critical so I can confirm that this really was a job well done with great potential for the future. It is fantastic that such a Western festival could be held in such a different, oriental city like Macau. I can honestly say that I would love to come back and I hope to do so next year because a lot of things have yet to be done. Macau deserves more interesting and quality events.

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We are delighted to be here and to have the opportunity to meet the Chinese and other musicians. I very much enjoyed meeting all the singers and it was wonderful to listen to Ileana Cotrubas. I loved the concert in the Government Palace. It was really good. The excellent concert held at the Church of Saint Laurence deserved a bigger audience but it wasn't helped by the intense heat that day.

The International Music Festival has great potential but the world must learn more about Macau. I would like to stress the significance of the live broadcast of the Gala Night. It was a great promotion job, one of the best ways to make Macau and the Festival known to the rest of the world.

As for the future I would say that the path has already been paved for more Festivals. In general the Festival went very well apart from some slight irregularities which are hardly worth mentioning when we bear in mind the fact that this was the First International Music Festival of Macau.

John Whibley**

Silva Pereira

Translated by José Vieira

From the 24th to the 31st of October, 1987, Macau witnessed some unforgettable moments of culture. The week-long festival had eight musical events featuring Ileana Cotrubas and Lucia Valentini-Terrani (singers), Ingrid Haebler, Pedro Burmester and Adriano Jordão (pianists), Peter Dauelsberg (cellist), Beijing's TV Symphony Orchestra conducted by Silva Pereira and Yan Fang, the Goldberg Ensemble and the famous actress, Audrey Hepburn, who was present at the closing concert of this unforgettable First International Music Festival of Macau.

The organizers of this Festival should remember that thirty years ago a branch of Lisbon's Musical Circle was opened in Macau thanks to the great enthusiasm of Sr. Pedro Lobo, a remarkable man. Macau had the privilege of hosting many famous European musicians. Later, for reasons unknown, the musical events gradually faded away leaving no trace. The Portuguese are poetic people and therefore emotional. They only hesitate when confronted with an "easy" task. Thus it is also true that the genuine spirit of cultural continuity requires virtues which they do not always possess, such as steady perseverance, a committed desire, courage and heroism without tears. In view of this I must say that the Festival was very well organized with intelligent and sensitive support from the Government. Congratulations to all concerned! It is gratifying to note that plans are already being made for the future which will surely put Macau on the world music festival circuit.

Finally, I cannot make any comment on the social and cultural events since I myself took part in them. However, I would like to say that no matter the price, culture should be a long-lasting pleasure and investment. With such a propitious start to the Festival we can rest assured that no evil eye will be cast on the future.

*Music critic; Coordinator of Macau's future Music Conservatory.

**Manager of the "Goldberg Ensemble"