1990: Starting from Baojia Street

After hanging up the phone with Akina Nakamori, Zhou Yan got up to go to the cafeteria, but before he had taken two steps the phone rang again.

He couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Akina Nakamori and the others still had something to say?

After the call was picked up, an excited voice rang out, "Teacher Zhou, you have given us a big surprise."

Although the voice on the phone was a little distorted, Zhou Yan immediately recognized it as Yu Songlin's voice.

But Yu Songlin’s words made Zhou Yan feel a little confused. What did he mean by giving them a surprise?
"Captain Yu, where does this surprise come from?" Zhou Yan asked.

"About our group's performance abroad."

Now Zhou Yan was even more confused. "Didn't you already know about your group's overseas performance? How is this a surprise?"

"Haha, it seems that you don't know yet, Teacher Zhou. Now there is a new situation regarding our troupe's overseas performances. Zhang Youan called me just now and said that the number of performances has been increased to 32, in 30 cities, 17 cities in the United States, and 13 cities in Europe."

Zhou Yan was also quite surprised to hear Yu Songlin's words. He did not expect that Zhang Youan had quietly done such a big thing and raised the scale of the Central Folk Music Orchestra's performances to such a level.

The scale of this tour is even larger than that of the Piano Youth Orchestra.

Of course, the main reason for the Youth Piano Orchestra’s failure is that time does not permit it. Otherwise, it would be no problem to organize thirty or forty performances. Neon alone can hold more than a dozen performances.

In 87, the Central Philharmonic Orchestra visited the United States, but only held 26 concerts.

Although he didn't know how Zhang Youan did it, Zhou Yan was still very happy for the folk music group. He smiled and said, "Your group will have a hard time in the future. You will be in 30 cities in Europe and America. I guess you won't be able to go home for some days."

With 32 performances, even if I perform one every two days, I will not be able to go home for more than two months. And it is basically impossible to perform one every two days, after all, most of them are in different cities.

The previous time the Central Orchestra went to the United States, the 26 concerts lasted for 42 days. This was because there were not so many cities where the concerts were held, and they were all in the United States. Unlike this time, they had to fly to Europe and the journey took a long time.

There is no way around it because they are divided into different cities. Folk music bands are not well-known abroad, and their market effect is definitely average. It is difficult for the same city to support multiple performances, at least at this stage.

Unlike the Piano Youth Orchestra, they can hold many shows in a row in many cities, not to mention their main bases like Japan and China, this is also true in the United States.

Previously, their band performed three shows in three consecutive days at Chandler Hall in Los Angeles, and the tickets for each show were sold out.

"Yes, according to the plan, the orchestra will spend the New Year outside." Yu Songlin said.

"Then we need to tell the group members in advance. Chinese New Year is a big deal."

"Haha, I believe they are all fine. Although the New Year is a big deal, it depends on what it is compared to. However, I'm afraid this performance will delay Qingyinfang's schedule."

Wei Yuru and her friends will definitely go with the Central Chinese Orchestra's overseas performance this time.

This had been agreed upon before, but the number of performances scheduled was not large and the duration was not very long, so it would not have much impact.

Now the number of performances has increased to more than 30 shows, and Qingyinfang cannot do any work for at least two or three months, which has indeed had a great impact.

Qingyinfang is very popular in Japan now, with a constant stream of performances. Moreover, their tickets are becoming more and more expensive and are selling better and better.

At the beginning, many Japanese music fans regarded Qingyinfang as a substitute for the Piano Boys Orchestra. After all, the repertoire they performed had a high degree of overlap with that of the Piano Boys Orchestra.

But now, Qingyinfang has accumulated many loyal fans of their own.

Now is also a critical period for Qingyinfang's career growth. If they have no work for several consecutive months, it will indeed affect their development.

If Qingyinfang had signed a contract with an ordinary commercial company, they probably wouldn't have let him go, at least not for such a long time.

But when Zhou Yan formed this orchestra, his intention was to spread Chinese music. Now that the Central Folk Orchestra has such a good opportunity, Qingyinfang must of course give in to them.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Captain Yu, don't worry about Qingyinfang's affairs. Let's focus on your group. Let's do this. I will let Teacher Wei and the others return to China in a few days."

"It doesn't have to be so early. After all, the performance doesn't start until the end of October, so there are still nearly four months to go."

"Come back early and reserve enough time to practice with the group. Teacher Wei has not practiced with the group much recently, so it is inevitable that she will be a little rusty. It is better to be fully prepared. Their work should be scheduled until the end of this month. I asked them to finish the work that has been decided and not take other work."

Yu Songlin sighed, "Teacher Zhou, thank you for your support to our orchestra. In fact, you have helped us a lot."

"It's not really about helping each other, it's just mutual benefit." Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Besides, I am also a member of folk music, so I also have a responsibility to promote folk music."

"I'm both happy and touched that you think this way. There's one more thing I want to tell you. After Mr. Zhang told me about the Chinese Orchestra's performance, I reported it to the leader, who also gave some instructions. The program "Memories of the Forbidden City" received a very good response during the last Spring Festival Gala, so the leader thought that three or four of your songs could be added to the program for this overseas performance. "Memories of the Forbidden City" is one, and I also recommended "Journey to the West Fantasy". Do you have any ideas for the other one or two?"

Zhou Yan was not surprised at all to hear Yu Songlin say this. Adding his music to the orchestra was a win-win situation for both him and the orchestra.

After a moment's silence, Zhou Yan said, "If we add another song, I suggest adding "Three Kingdoms Suite". After all, the Four Great Classics are still well-known abroad and are also representative."

"Three Kingdoms Suite?" Yu Songlin expressed doubt. "Is it from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

Zhou Yan nodded and said, "Yes, these are some of the songs I wrote for the soundtrack of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When I performed in Neon before, I put them together to make a suite. If you want to add them to your program, I will rearrange them to make the music richer."

Yu Songlin smiled and said, "Oh, that's great. I'm quite familiar with the soundtrack of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It's very listenable and the style is suitable for our group. But how long is this suite?"

"If I make another version, it will be about seven minutes long."

"If it's only seven minutes, then we can add another song. What do you think of the last song, 'The Great Wall'?"

The name "The Great Wall" is very representative, and this song was one of the theme songs when the Olympic bid was made. It is indeed suitable to be included. Zhou Yan nodded, "This song is also OK, but I think if you want to attract more European and American audiences, you can add "Guanghan Palace". I have remade this song for Qingyinfang, and it is not difficult to modify it. The most important thing is that the album "Raining Bells" sold well in Europe and the United States, and "Guanghan Palace" is more well-known than the other songs."

The other pieces are indeed representative, but they are not popular enough in Europe and the United States. Zhou Yan believes that if they want to be representative, "Three Kingdoms Suite", "Memories of the Forbidden City" and "Journey to the West Fantasy" are enough, and there is no need to add "The Great Wall".

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, Yu Songlin also felt that it made a lot of sense. "That's true. If you want to promote it, you still have to consider the feelings of ordinary European and American listeners. Well, let's study it later and tell you when we have finalized the tracks."

Zhou Yan nodded and said, "No problem. We already have ready-made versions of Memories of the Forbidden City and Journey to the West Fantasy, so there's no need to modify them. It won't be difficult to modify the other songs even if you guys decide. I can still make them once you're sure."

"Okay, I'll have to trouble you then."

"You are welcome."

……

After chatting with Yu Songlin, Zhou Yan went to the cafeteria to have a meal. After returning to the office, he called Zhang Youan.

Zhang Youan has returned to China and is now in Shanghai.

After receiving Zhou Yan's call, Zhang Youan immediately guessed what he wanted.

"Did Captain Yu Songlin call you?"

"Well, when I first received his call, I was a little confused. I didn't know how I had given him such a surprise."

"After the news was confirmed, I told him first, and he was indeed very excited after knowing it."

"Thirty-two concerts, this is a big scale, of course he was excited. But I'm curious about how you managed to get things done. The last time we talked about this, it was not the case." Zhou Yan asked curiously.

Zhang Youan laughed, "Do you think I did nothing in the United States during that time? I contacted many companies for this matter and finally decided on this plan. This time the folk music group went to Europe and the United States for a tour. It was invited by ICM. The conditions they offered were very good and the planning was very reasonable."

"If we were to organize so many concerts by ourselves, it would be time-consuming and laborious, and the results might not be good. After all, ICM has done very well in Europe and the United States, and its channels in various aspects are also very complete."

Zhou Yan had also heard of ICM, a very famous agency in Hollywood. Nowadays, ICM is very popular in Europe and the United States. It is said that their annual revenue can exceed 100 million US dollars.

ICM's business scope is very wide, and now has expanded to publishing, theater and television news in several major European countries.

I heard that their company also wanted to enter the film production industry, but failed due to antitrust laws.

If it is an ICM invitation, then there is really no need to worry too much.

"Yu Songlin just said that the concert will not start until the end of October. But I remember you said before that you rented the Golden Hall in September? Does that mean the schedule has changed? Are we still going to the Golden Hall?"

"Of course I have to go to the Musikverein, but the time has been postponed. I will go to Carnegie Hall first in November."

Zhou Yan felt relieved when he heard that the Golden Hall schedule was not cancelled but just postponed. He still attached great importance to performing in the Golden Hall.

A walk around the Golden Hall not only increases the band's fame, but more importantly, it can boost the band members' self-confidence.

Just imagine, the band members have even been to the Golden Hall, so would they have any psychological pressure to go to other places?

Before, Wei Yuru and Wang Ciheng had only performed three concerts in Los Angeles. After they came back, their state changed drastically. The big stage has a huge impact on performers.

From the perspective of ordinary people, when you hear an orchestra hold a concert in the Golden Hall, the feeling is completely different.

In fact, it would be a good idea to go to Carnegie Hall first. After all, Carnegie is also one of the world's top concert halls. Carnegie has a long history and many famous people have performed there. When it was first established, Tchaikovsky was the guest conductor at the premiere of the concert hall.

Today, performing in Carnegie Hall, like the Musikverein, has become a sign of success.

"If it's November, then I should still have a chance to go and see it in person."

"If you have time, you can still go on stage to perform. There will be several of your songs on the program of this tour. Do you know this?"

"Yes, Captain Yu told me that it was the leader's instruction."

"The leadership's instructions are one thing, and ICM also made suggestions. As a purely commercial agency, ICM will not do anything without profit. They are willing to invite the China National Traditional Chinese Orchestra to hold a tour because Wei Yuru and Wang Ciheng performed very well in your concert at the end of last year, which caused a wave of popularity in the United States. If your music can be added to the program, the tickets will definitely sell much better."

Zhou Yan nodded, "It should be fine to go to the scene, as for whether to go on stage or not, we'll talk about it later."

"If conditions permit, you can still go on stage and have some fun. It will be beneficial to you, the Chinese Orchestra, and ICM. Oh, there is one more thing I want to tell you. This time, ICM is not only promoting the Central Chinese Orchestra, but also has another purpose, which is to promote their cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Do you know this Yo-Yo Ma?"

When Zhou Yan heard Yo-Yo Ma's name, his eyebrows twitched.

How could he not know about Yo-Yo Ma? He is the world's top cellist and a well-deserved classical violin master. Moreover, Yo-Yo Ma's fame is not limited to the classical music world, but also spans many fields. He is also very good at modern music and has also performed well in film soundtracks.

However, Zhou Yan also expressed his understanding of Zhang Youan's question, because Yo-Yo Ma's international fame today is not as great as it was later.

If Zhou Yan remembers correctly, Yo-Yo Ma should be around 40 years old now.

Although Yo-Yo Ma is a genius, became famous very early and performed at Carnegie Hall in his teens, he cannot be called a top master yet.

Hearing that Yo-Yo Ma would also be there, Zhou Yan wanted to go even more. (End of this chapter)