The Love Affair - Musician and Instrument
In “Tales from the Arabian Nights”, Miss Zhou Mi’s solo performance on GPA Holdings’ 1780 Giuseppe Guadagnini cello got a rousing ovation to a packed hall at the Yong Siew Toh Hall on Saturday, 3 January 2009.
Miss Zhou Mi (centre) with GPA Holdings’ Dr. Wilson Goh and Mrs. Karen Goh
Miss Zhou Mi, a winner of the 2004 Yong Siew Toh Concerto Competition, shares her experience on her vibrant and powerful solo performance,
Q: What was preparation like for your solo?
Zhou Mi: I do not do solo concerts often. In fact, Dvorak is actually my second time I am playing as a soloist. My preparation for this concert is simple – practise. All musicians do the same, but as a beginner to concert solos, I watched videos of master concerts and learnt how they reacted to the orchestra, learnt how they followed and listened to the orchestra..
L-R: World-renowned cellist Qin Liwei with his students, Brendan Goh and Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi is holding the 1780 Giusseppe Guadagnini cello on loan from GPA Holdings.
My mentor, Mr. Qin Liwei helped me a lot too. As a well-known soloist who has performed all over the world, he shared some of his experiences with me, like how to do the first rehearsal, how to listen to the orchestra and get the right response.
Q: What was it like playing on the 1780 Guadagnini cello?
ZM: After the first few days of playing on the Guadagnini, I felt that it had a mature sound – like a human voice – deep and outstanding. I enjoyed playing on the Guadagnini and during the concert, I felt the cello becoming part of my body. It knew exactly what I wanted from the music and it just sung out without me having to “force” it.
I also felt very lucky to be the first person to play on this cello in its debut performance in Singapore!
Q: In your opinion, how does a good cello/instrument make a difference to a musician?
ZM: A good instrument can make better music for a musician when he/she is performing. Musicians do not have to force or spend lots of time working on how to create a better sound from the instrument. With a good instrument, a musician can also get more inspiration; making his/her life easier!
For example, the Guadagnini cello has such a great human voice. During practise, I even forgot that I was playing on an instrument. The Guadagnini cello also gave such good imaginations – a beautiful view of nature coming into my mind while I was playing the slow movement of Dvorak and I enjoyed it very much.
With a good instrument, the problems with the music become much easier to solve because of the great sound and mature quality.
Zhou Mi signing autographs for her young audience
Q: Any advise for young budding soloists? Advise on how to choose the right instrument? ZM: On choosing the right instrument, this question is a little hard to answer. But if you like it and you are physically comfortable with it, you will spend more time on the instrument to make a good sound. I think that that would be the right instrument.
With regards to advise for young soloists, I am not a master, but I feel that if you love music and want to become a good musician – practise more. Learn from other things as well, such as painting, dancing and enjoy your life! I believe all musical feelings come from your social life.
