Concert activities of Chinese pianists: the history of development

Statement of the problem. The article discusses the formation and development of concert activities of Chinese pianists, starting from the 20th century. The performance art of Chinese pianists, although recognized today as an extremely bright phenomenon, is still the least studied among all areas of music art in the country. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. Analysis of the current musicological studies shows that, despite a significant number of the works devoted to the piano music of China and the performance creativity of Chinese pianists, the formation of latter’s concert activity as a whole remains in the shadows. In this regard, there is a need to summarize this experience and forecast the further development of Chinese national piano art, which is the scientific novelty of the proposed study. The purpose of the article is to determine the stages of the formation of the concert activity of Chinese pianists in the context of the development of the country’s national piano performance. The main methods involved in the work were analytical, historical-typological, theoretical, interpretive, and comparative one. Results of the research. The facts of the concert practice of both foreign artists and the formation of national pianistic cadres, which formed the foundation of the Chinese national pianistic art, are analyzed and compared. The factors that contributed to its development or, on the contrary, inhibited it, are determined. The concert performances of M. Paci, B. Zakharov, A. Cherepnin, which became a “performing model” for Chinese pianists at the beginning of the twentieth century, are considered. The first solo concerts of Chinese performers Ding Shande, Li Cuizheng, Zhou Guangren, Gu Shenying, Jing Shi, Liu Shikun, Li Minqing, etc. are analyzed. Their role in the festival and competition movement, which made it possible to announce to the world about the development of Chinese pianistic art, is determined. The article provides historical facts about the biased concert activity and dramatic fate of many Chinese pianists during the “Cultural Revolution”. The trends in the renewal and further development of Chinese piano performing art (since the late 1970s) and its rapid rise (after the 1980s) are determined. The largescale touring and international competition activities of modern Chinese pianists Lang Lang, Li Yundi, Jiang Tian, Du Ning-wu, etc. are analyzed. Conclusion. The assessment of the presented scientific works on the performing activities of Chinese pianists confirms their limitations and inconsistencies regarding some facts and personalities of the artists. The dramatic period of the “cultural revolution” is worse represented in the aspect of hushing up many facts, forgetting the names of outstanding performers because of their tragic fate. A comparison of facts from many different sources made it possible to make an attempt to restore a truly fair picture of the development of piano performance in China, to outline its main trends and prospects. Keywords: piano perf