Butterfly Lovers & Paganini Chloe Chua, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Rodolfo Barráez, Mario Venzago

Album review

China has often attracted European artists in search of the exotic. Among the many examples of this are Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” (“The Song of the Earth”), Puccini’s “Turandot” and Ravel’s “Shéhérazade”, which conjures up images of “pot-bellied mandarins under their umbrellas”. This album by violinist Chole Chua takes us in the opposite direction, with the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto for four hands being composed in 1959 by two Shanghai Conservatory students: Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. It is now known that the division of labor between the two composers was rather unbalanced; He Zhanhao is said to have thought up the famous opening melody and Chen Gang to have composed the entire development of the work from that point on.

Illustrating the ancient and tragic legend of the Butterfly Lovers, which is in some ways China’s version of Romeo and Juliet, the concerto is one of the most famous pieces of Chinese orchestral music composed for a Western orchestra, but using the pentatonic scale (with five whole tones) typical of traditional music. While using tonal harmonies, the skill of its composition gives this concerto a ‘Chinese’ sound through the use of certain typical mannerisms, such as grace notes and glissandos that immediately evoke the mood and spirit of Chinese music. Having become very popular in concert as well as in figure-skating competitions, The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto is now often played on traditional instruments that replace the original violin.

Born in Singapore in 2007, Chloe Chua is exactly the same age as the ill-fated lovers who turn into butterflies after their tragic deaths. Perhaps this is why her rendition of the concerto is so poignant and pure, combining her well established talent with astonishingly sure technique.

Chen Gang would later write “Sunshine over Tashkurgan”, a piece for violin and orchestra that paints a picture of the beautiful town of Xinjiang surrounded by green meadows. Fascinated by its exotic harmony, variety of melodies and irregular rhythms, Chloe Chua gives a warm and colorful interpretation of the piece. It’s then back to Europe for the rest of the album where Niccolo Paganini’s First Concerto gives Chloe Chua the opportunity to combine her virtuosity with true yet effortless expression in music that is made to shine. Recorded in 2023 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Rodolfo Barráez and Mario Venzago, this album makes for a fitting Qobuzissime. © François Hudry/Qobuz