距离中国万里之遥的埃及历史名城亚历山大，富有历史气息的亚历山大歌剧院装点一新：地上铺上了红毯，门前挂上了红灯笼和火红的中国结。

夜幕降临，金碧辉煌的剧院内，浙江交响乐团在这片拥有狮身人面像和金字塔的神秘土地，奏响了属于浙江的好声音。

由中国文化和旅游部、埃及文化部、中国驻埃及大使馆主办，开罗中国文化中心、浙江省文化和旅游厅、开罗歌剧院承办的2019“欢乐春节”新春音乐会——浙江交响乐团（以下简称浙交）专场演出于年初在埃及亚历山大、开罗两地举行。音乐让同为文明古国的中埃人民走在了一起。

一首埃及当地乐曲，给了观众一个惊喜

1月25日，浙交在埃及演出的第一站来到埃及最大的海港、第二大城市、有“地中海明珠”之称的历史名城亚历山大。

伴随着营造欢快节庆气氛的《春节序曲》，现场气氛被瞬间点燃，这场精心选取中西方经典作品和埃及名曲的音乐会正式拉开帷幕。在高健执棒指挥下，乐团将一首首风格迥异的乐曲演绎得精湛至极——

戏曲韵味十足的《戏曲音乐三首》将黄梅戏、越剧、京剧的独特魅力一一展现；由新疆民歌改编的《掀起你的盖头来》旋律优美欢快；笛子独奏《水乡船歌》令中国江南水乡情韵映入观众眼帘；《瑶族舞曲》则丰富、生动地展现瑶族民众欢歌热舞的喜庆场面。特别值得一提的是，为了能够体现出浙江的地域特色，浙交特意将自己的原创曲目《诗画浙江》选为演奏曲目之一。团长周丽芳表达了自己的期冀：“希望有一天，我们的曲子也能成为世界经典。”

演出中，还穿插了西方经典乐曲——莫扎特作曲的《G大调弦乐小夜曲》、罗马尼亚民间乐曲改编的口笛独奏《云雀》、交响乐《阿莱城姑娘》选段、弦乐合奏《无穷动》……中西合壁，碰撞出奇妙的火花。

而当浙交奏响埃及乐曲《这里有美妙的事儿》（Fiha Haga Helwa）时，现场气氛瞬间被推至最高潮。听着来自中国的音乐家把自己耳熟能详的乐曲演奏得热烈澎湃、十足地道，埃及观众们倍感亲切和喜悦，在现场不断发出欢呼声。

演出结束后，应观众们的掌声邀请，乐团又加演了《茉莉花》等3首乐曲，观众们的掌声伴随着旋律有节奏地响起，久久不息。而当最后一个音符收起，除了不愿离去等待合影的埃及学生们，观众席间还响亮地响起了一个用中文说出的词语“谢谢”。

1月27日，浙交的第二场专场音乐会在“千塔之城”埃及首都开罗继续上演。总之，无论是在亚历山大还是在开罗，浙交的演出让金字塔和狮身人面像的故乡熏染了“中国红”，用精彩飞扬的音乐传播了“中国范”、传递了中华情。

浙交在底特律交响乐团音乐厅演出。

为了更好地交流，在演出呈现上下苦功

对于文化交流，相比影视作品，音乐显然是更为直接的交流和表达方式。“我们就是要用艺术让当地民众充分领略中华文化的博大精深。”团长周丽芳的自信，显然是有底气的。

中国文化符号走出国门、进行国际间的交流，一直是浙交努力的方向。事实上，这支团队早就训练出了在“任何情况下都能打硬仗”的本领——所有团员必须在排练前的三分钟到位，这不是指3分钟内就站在相应的位置上，而是指3分钟内乐器就要拿在手上，声音全部调试完毕，只要指挥的手一动，随时就可以开始演奏。“这3分钟之内要保持绝对的安静，不能发出任何声音，随时准备发射音乐‘炮弹’。”周丽芳笑着打比方。

而每次出访交流的诀窍是精益求精：一是在曲目的选择上找准定位、精挑细选，确定与出访相契合的演出节目内容；二是在演出呈现上下苦功，就在临走前一天，浙交的团员们把已经排好的曲目过了一遍又一遍，以最充分的准备，踏上异国的土地。

“这两年，每年春节期间，我们几乎都在外面。去年是在美国。”浙交的随团翻译张翀说，在没有外事演出的日子里，团里就会不断扩充自己的曲目储备库，一旦接到演出通知，他们就会立刻查阅、研究当地的曲风曲调，在编排上作出相应调整，随时准备出发。

去年国庆期间在巴西演出，他们就特意选择了有热烈曲风的乐曲，果然让表演现场无比沸腾。而且在巴西，浙交和当地的乐团合作演出，技艺上的切磋加深了两个国家的艺术团体对彼此的认同。

这种尊重和友谊具化到每个人每件事，或许感受更加深刻。

去年春节在“中美交流之窗”马斯卡廷演出，团员们都住在当地居民的家里。演出结束后浙交团员们回国的那晚，气温极低、寒风呼啸，当地居民却纷纷前来送行。其中还有一对夫妻身披单薄的衣服，急急忙忙地跑来，特意送自己做的糕点，只因他们担心半夜出发的团员们在飞机上吃不饱。当时，周丽芳感动地将脖子上的围巾摘下来，围在那位妻子的脖子上。直到现在，周丽芳提起这件事时眼眶仍是红红的：“这个画面，我会记一辈子。”

音乐无国界。不同民族、国家的文化或许千姿百态，而跳动着的音符能突破重重隔阂，让你我的心灵丰盈、温暖且紧密相连。

East and West, Music Is the Best

Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra’s New Year Concert Tour in Egypt

When the musicians of Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra finished the last notes of the 2019 New Year’s Concert at the Alexandria Opera House in Egypt and prepared for the curtain call, everyone in the audience had become infatuated with the infectious power surging behind the enchanting “Jiangnan” softness of China, and the bond between two ancient civilizations was further strengthened by the magic of music. The night at the opera house was lit up by “China red” and came to life in the “voice of Zhejiang”. The Chinese New Year extravaganza was jointly crafted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Culture of Egypt, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, Cairo Chinese Culture Center, Culture and Tourism Bureau of Zhejiang Province and Cairo Opera House.

The musician group arrived at Alexandria, the second-largest city in Egypt and the country’s largest port enjoying the reputation of the “Mediterranean Pearl”, on January 25. The night saw the success of the orchestra’s opening performance in its Egyptian tour of the 2019 New Year’s Concert.

The musical night opened in the vibrant melody of Prelude: The Joy of New Year, a “collage” that combines the Egyptian, Chinese and Western elements. The genius of Gao Jian, the conductor, filled every minute of the opening show with superb technique and emotion.

The prelude was followed by a marvelous Chinese opera chapter that showcased the features of three genres: Huangmei Opera, Yue Opera and Peking Opera. A significant portion of the carefully designed repertoire is dedicated to the magnificent musical tradition of Zhejiang Province. To highlight the regional features of Zhejiang Province, the repertoire includes Poetic and Scenic Zhejiang, made by the musicians of ZSO especially for the New Year Concert.

“We strive to bring traditional Chinese music to a wider, international audience so that someday the melodies can make their way into the ‘world classics’ legion,” said Zhou Lifang, Director of Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra.

The concert was intermixed with a smorgasbord of Western classics such as Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, a flute piece adapted from Dinicu’s Skylark, L'Arlesienne selections, Paganini.N - Moto Perpetu, etc.

The atmosphere reached its peak when the stage was taken over by the rhythm of FihaHagaHelwa, a famous Egyptian piece that filled the heart of everyone in the audience with the joy of familiarity and brought down the house. The sizzling passion of the Egyptians led to three encores including a special presentation of What a Beautiful Jasmine Flower, a popular Chinese folksong widely performed on the global stage. After the curtains were drawn, many Egyptian students waited for a chance to take photos with the musicians, and a cordial “thank you” in Chinese was heard clearly from someone in the audience.

The second performance was staged in Cairo, where the orchestra set another milestone in the history of China-Egypt cultural communication.

Musicians of Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra pose for a group photo in visit to Brazil in September 2018.

Compared with other media such as movies and TV dramas, music is more direct, expressive and boundless when it comes to cultural sharing and mutual understanding. Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra has never ceased being a trailblazer in breaking new grounds on the global stage. While it is always true that practice makes perfect, the troupe’s stunning performing quality also comes from its rigorous training based on a high sense of self-discipline.

“We have a ‘three-minute’ policy that is strictly followed by everyone in the team to make sure that everything is ready and under perfect control at least three minutes before any show begins,” Zhou Lifang explains proudly. “We also try our best to enrich the repertoire to keep it as updated as possible, which also makes it easier for us to find something that caters to local audiences and eventually leads to more in-depth exchange and emotional resonance between different cultures in the musical way.”

For every show abroad, the repertoire is painstakingly designed and rehearsed till the last minute. Perfection is the sole goal.

“Last year we spent the Chinese New Year in the United States,” recall Zhang Chong, interpreter of the orchestra.

For Zhou Lifang, music not only enhanced the reputation of the orchestra but also brought her fond memories of the coldest but most heartwarming, soul-healing night during her visit in Muscatine, Iowa. “We stayed in the homes of the locals when we were there last Spring Festival. A young couple came to my place just to say goodbye. It was freezing cold. Seeing the pastries they brought us, my words failed. What I could do was to put my scarf around the neck of the girl and say thank you.”

(Executive Editor: Xinyu Xie)