Ma Sicong

Ma Sicong

Ma Sicong (May 7, 1912 - May 20, 1987), a violinist, composer and music educator, was born in Haifeng, Shanwei, Guangdong Province.

The first generation of violin composers and performers in China occupies an important position in the history of modern Chinese music. After the victory of the Anti Japanese war in 1945, he successively served as conductor of Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, director of Guangzhou Art and music department, President of Shanghai Chinese Conservatory of music, President of Hong Kong Chinese Conservatory of music, etc. After 1950, he became the first president of the Central Conservatory of music, vice chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association, and editor in chief of music creation.

On May 20, 1987, Ma Sicong died in Philadelphia, USA.

brief account of the author's life

I will dedicate every note to my motherland. ——

Ma Sicong

On May 7, 1912, Ma Sicong, as the fifth son of the Ma family, was born in a courtyard in Youshi street, Haifeng County, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, with a nickname of AI. Ma Sicong's father, Ma Yuhang, was a close friend of Chen Jiongming, a famous figure in Guangdong Province. Later, he became the director of the Finance Department of Guangdong Province, which enabled him to maintain the life of a family of nine children. Ma Sicong's parents did not understand music, but the unique local drama music of Hai Lufeng, the hometown of drama in Guangdong Province, deeply influenced Ma Sicong in his childhood.

In 1923, at the age of 11, Ma Sicong finally realized his dream. He came to France with his elder brother and began his music career. He studied violin at the Conservatory of music of Nancy and the Conservatory of music of Paris.

At the beginning of 1929, Ma Sicong returned home because of his sudden change of family background. In Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places performance, known as the "music prodigy.".

In 1930, he went to France again to learn composition from binembaum.

In 1931, funded by the government of Guangdong Province, Ma Sicong went to France to study again. In the second year, he returned to China and became the president of China's first modern "private Conservatory of music". He mainly performed in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nanjing, Peking and other places. At the same time, he successively taught in Guangzhou Conservatory of music and Music Department of School of education of Central University.

In 1932, Ma Sicong married his female disciple Wang Muli.

After the outbreak of the Anti Japanese war in 1937, he spent many years in South China and southwest China, persisting in frequent performances, and successively served as professor of Sun Yat sen University, conductor of the Chinese Symphony Orchestra, director of Guiyang Art Museum, etc.

After the victory of the Anti Japanese war in 1945, he successively served as conductor of Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, director of Guangzhou Art and music department, President of Shanghai Chinese Conservatory of music, President of Hong Kong Chinese Conservatory of music, etc.

After 1950, he became the first president of the Central Conservatory of music, vice chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association, and editor in chief of music creation.

Due to the cultural revolution, he left Hong Kong in January 1967 and settled in the United States, where he was engaged in composition and teaching.

In July 1971, Kissinger, assistant to the president of the United States for security affairs, returned to the United States from Beijing. Zhou Enlai asked him to convey to Ma Sicong: "there are two things I deeply regret in my life. One of them is that Ma Sicong left his hometown for the United States in his 50s. I am very sad."

He died in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987.

On December 14, 2007, 20 years after Ma Sicong died in a foreign country, his ashes were buried in Guangzhou, China. On the same day, the complete works of Ma Sicong was held in Guangzhou Art Museum.

A brief collection of the past

Change the playing track

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Homesickness

》Change to Dongfanghong

In 1950, the children's songs composed by Guo Moruo and Ma Sicong spread all over the country, and were determined by the Central Committee of the Chinese Youth League as the songs of the Chinese youth vanguard. "Unite to inherit our father and brother, not afraid of difficulties, not afraid of heavy burden, strive for the construction of new China, learn from the great leader Mao Zedong", in the 1950s and 1960s, hundreds of millions of Chinese children grew up singing this song.

In 1952, Ma Sicong accepted Lin Yaoji, 15, into the junior class of the Central Conservatory of music. Two years later, Sheng Zhongguo, a 13-year-old student, was admitted to the school and sent to the Soviet Union for further study.

In 1955, Ma Sicong went to Poland as a judge of the Fifth International Chopin piano competition. FU Cong, a player sent by China, went with him. After more than ten days together, Ma Sicong gave FU Cong "suggestions for improvement". FU Cong stood out and won the highest "maruka Dance Music Award".

In 1958, Ma Sicong was a judge of the Tchaikovsky International Piano and violin competition. He took his disciple Liu Shikun to Moscow. Before the competition, Ma Sicong told Liu Shikun: the fingers should touch the key more quickly and forcefully. "If you don't leave immediately after the hammer strikes the bell, you will cover the sound to death, and the sound will be dull.". In the competition, Liu Shikun won the second place.

However, Ma Sicong also gradually felt confused and heavy. The young students of Shanghai Conservatory of music, who wrote an article to discuss a symphony, were labeled as "anti party rightist clique" and escorted to Beidahuang reform through labor, and called for "deep exposure and sharp criticism" of He Luting. With one movement after another, the relaxed and free atmosphere of the music industry has been swept away. Ma Sicong himself was also criticized: he guided the students to be only professional but not red. He wanted to turn the Central Conservatory of music into a Paris Conservatory of music. There are even such words in the text of "pulling the white flag": Ma Sicong's performance of Schubert's Ode to the Virgin Mary is to lead the audience to the church and the foot of the statue.

The rain is coming and the wind is full. Time has come to 1966.

One Sunday in May, a student came to President Ma Sicong's house in a panic. He said: the Proletarian Cultural Revolution has begun. Learning violin is infatuated with bourgeois ideas and bourgeois way of life. He can no longer learn piano from his teacher.

In June, Ma Sicong was violently besieged by the eager students chanting slogans: down with Ma Sicong, the reactionary authority of the bourgeoisie, down with Ma Sicong, the vampire. The students gave Ma Sicong a large bundle of books, wrote a big character newspaper and ordered him to post it at home, read it carefully and touch his soul.

Ma Sicong was stunned and motionless. Everything seemed to be in a nightmare.

Ma Sicong was put into the "Socialist College", where there are party secretary and department directors of the college, as well as Beijing Art Academy, Film Academy, literary and art circles authorities and celebrities, totaling more than 500 people. Under the supervision of military control personnel, they read newspapers, discuss, write "anti party words and deeds" criticizing themselves and exposing their friends in bed.

In order to prepare for the construction of Ma Sicong Art Museum, Lu Dazheng had many contacts with Ma's descendants

One day in August, Ma Sicong was taken to the truck and returned to the Conservatory of music. Ma Sicong, who got out of the car, had not yet got a firm foothold. A bucket of paste fell on his head. Some people pasted a big character newspaper on him and put a high hat with the words "ghosts and snakes" on his head. Ma Sicong has two pieces of cardboard hanging around his neck, one with the words "bourgeois music authority Ma Sicong" and the other with the words "vampire". The students asked Ma Sicong to take a broken enamel basin in his hand as a "death knell" and walk while striking, saying that it was "ringing the death knell of the Bourgeoisie".

At any time, as long as the red guards are "happy", they can order Ma Sicong to bow their heads and ask them to crawl on the ground.

Once, a red guard with a sharp knife yelled at Ma Sicong: you have to be honest, or you will be stabbed with a knife.

One day, Ma Sicong was pulling grass on the grass. A villain came to Ma Sicong and pointed at him rudely. He said, "you deserve to pull grass. Your surname is ma. You only deserve to eat grass.".

At Ma Sicong's home, the red guards pasted the big slogan with the words "down with Ma Sicong" all over the doors, windows and walls, leaving only a one meter high hole at the gate. He also ordered Wang Muli, Ma Sicong's wife, to clean the streets every day and write a piece of material to expose Ma Sicong's crime every day, "if you are dishonest, you will die.".

When his wife, Wang Muli, could not bear such threats and fright and fled Beijing with her son and daughter to start a wandering career, Ma Sicong secretly asked Zhao Wei, Secretary of the Party committee of the Conservatory of music, "when will this be the end?"

Ma Sicong's heart "head" has a bottom, that is: as long as the Central People's Broadcasting Station's program for Taiwan and overseas Chinese starts with "homesickness", Ma Sicong has not been firmly defeated or completely denied, there is still hope and hope, he is still "contradictions among the people", and he can play his beloved violin; the reason is clear and clear Simple: because central still uses its voice.

On November 28, 1966, the Central People's broadcasting station began to broadcast the song to Taiwan and overseas Chinese, stopped playing "homesickness" and changed it to northern Shaanxi Xintianyou folk song "Dongfanghong". Ma Sicong suddenly fell into the situation of despair.

When to wash guest's robes

The report on Ma Sicong's defection to the enemy issued by the Ministry of public security was approved by Kang Sheng and Xie Fuzhi. The case of Ma Sicong's "treason to the enemy" was thoroughly investigated, and dozens of people were implicated in prison. Ma Sicong's second brother, who lived in Shanghai, jumped from a building and died. His mother-in-law, niece and cook were persecuted and killed one after another.

On January 8, 1976, Zhou Enlai died. He said to his children: he respects Zhou Enlai very much, and Zhou Enlai also takes good care of him. He also recalled the scenes when he got along with Mao Zedong: Mao Zedong had extraordinary intelligence, his eyes were extraordinarily bright, and he knew ten things when he asked; he discussed music art with Mao Zedong for three hours, and finally reached a consensus; Mao Zedong liked reading and writing poetry, and everyone had artistic cells and was a bosom friend.

In October of that year, the gang of four was "pulled out" in China. Ma Sicong wrote: the newspaper and TV reports that Jiang Qing and several leaders of the Cultural Revolution were arrested were very gratifying. On the motherland, Ma Sicong's dream: can China get better? When to wash guest's robes?

Homesickness and sorrow made Ma Sicong become famous in a foreign country

Chinese PinYin : Ma Si Cong