Teen marimba prodigy rocks Juilliard

少年玛林巴弹奏者响震朱丽娅

Keeping the beat beats hitting the books

节奏激扬，撼动人心

By Liu Meng作者：刘萌  采访：温雅

For Zhang Zimo，a 14-year-old marimba prodigy admitted to New York's Juilliard

School pre-college program on full scholarship last May, percussion is a primal

human experience．

对于年仅14岁就于去年5月被纽约朱丽亚学院录取并获得全额奖学金的张子墨

而言，打击乐是一种更接近于人体的器乐。

“Everything in the world has rhythm, our stride, our heartbeat. Every time I play, my

heart races．And I know if I feel that way, I can make my audience feel it too．”

“世界上的一切都有节奏，比如我们走路、我们的心跳。每次我演奏的时候，我

的心情都很激动。只有自己把自己感动了，才能感染听众。”

The young Beijing native did just that with his solo performance at the capital's

Central Conservatory of Music (CCM) Attached Middle School on December 29，

earning him explosive rounds of applause from the audience.

这一点被这位北京少年在12月29日中央音乐学院附中音乐厅的音乐独奏会上表

现得淋漓尽致。在独奏会上，他赢得了听众阵阵热烈的掌声。

On invitation from Shanxi University Academy of Music（SUAM), the concert served

as a "thank you" to Zhang for donating a 70,000 yuan（＄10,251）marimba he won at

the First National Percussion Competition held in Shanxi Province on August 15．

Zhang donated the instrument in hopes of inspiring more students to study the

marimba.

这场音乐会是应山西人学音乐学院的邀请，作为对子墨的答谢。子墨在去年8

月15日第一届全国打击乐大赛中获得了少年组第一名，他将自己的奖品—一

台价值7万元的玛林把赠送给了山西大学音乐学院，帮助那里更多的学生改善学

习条件。

Young vibes

少年的感悟

Although not from a musical family, Zhang's talent surfaced as early as he could

vocalize．

尽管并不是来自音乐世家，子墨的音乐天赋在他刚学会说话的时候就显露出来

了。

“He would sing songs he had heard on TV," said his mother, Ren Jing.

“那时候，他就能模仿电视里的歌曲，”子墨的妈妈任静说。

Recognizing his gift, Zhang’s family sent him to study voice at a local primary school

by age 6．Unfortunately due to improper training, he strained his voice, damaging it

enough to end any plans for a singing career.

为了培养他的兴趣，子墨的家长在他6岁的时候，将他送进了一家当地小学学习

不巧的是，因为不恰当的练习，改变了他成为一名歌手的愿望。

Zhang originally set his sights on the drums, however the only available spots at the

CCM percussion department that year were for marimba students．Not discouraged

and eager for him to study music, Zhang's family quickly began searching for a

marimba instructor to train him for an audition. Before long, his musical talent was

recognized by former CCM marimba professor Zhao Ji．

最初，子墨学的是架子鼓，但是当时中央音乐学院附小在打击乐方面只开设玛林

巴专业。为了鼓励孩子，并让他尽早学习音乐，子墨的家长开始寻找玛林巴老师

来教导他。不久以后，他的音乐天赋就得到了中央音乐学院西洋打击乐赵纪教授

的肯定。

“Actually, I didn't expect for such a young child to be so musically aware. I

observed how sensitive he was to his surroundings, how his sense of rhythm

manifested even in his walk and how enthusiastic he was about music in general，，，

explained Zhao．"Because a performer not only needs to appreciate music but

communicate its beauty to the audience．”

“事实上，我并不指望这么小的孩子有多么高的演奏技能。我观察他对周围事

物的反映有多敏感，观察他走路形态中所体现的节奏感有多强，并考验他对音乐

有多么热爱，”赵教授解释说。“因为一个表演者不但要领会音乐，还要向听

众展示其中的美感。”

Blisters on his fingers

手上的伤痕

Despite only having studied with Zhao for eight months, the 8-year-old Zhang was

admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music percussion program, which according

to his parents is a musical success built on tremendous sacrifice.

尽管只跟赵纪教授学习了8个月，8岁的子墨就被音乐学院附小录取了。听他的

父母说，学艺的过程中充满了艰辛。

“While other children were still in bed, Zimo was already up practicing marimba,

and if he played one wrong note, his mother would make him play it until he got it

right,”said Zhang Guo, Zimo's father.

“当其他孩子还在床上睡懒觉的时候，子墨己经起床练习玛林巴了。如果他一个

音符弹错了，他妈妈就会让他重新弹奏，直到弹对为止，”子墨的爸爸说。

As marimba is played standing up, it is routine for Zhang to be on his feet practicing

seven or eight hours a day. Because he also often plays with four mallets at a time (an

advanced technique involving two mallets in one hand), his hands are often sore, cut

and calloused．

因为玛林巴要站着演奏，子墨一般每天要站着演奏7-8个小时。他通常要用4个

锤子弹奏，他的手经常常会酸痛、裂口，布满茧子。

“But as long as I focus, I don’t feel the pain," Zhang admitted.

“但是只要我投入了，我就不会觉得疼了，”子墨说。

And that focus is how Zhang is able to channel his emotion through his music．

正是由于他的专心致志，子墨才能把自己的感情融入到音乐当中。

“My greatest joy is if I feel something and then communicate that to my listeners．”

“我最大的乐趣就是把我的音乐感受传递给听众。”

According to Zhao，what sets Zhang apart from his peers is his stage presence

Honing his performing skills in the hotel lobby his father works while donning an

off-white tuxedo, Zhang would come alive as notes jump from his marimba.

赵教授说，子墨跟别人不同的是他的舞台表现。赵教授回忆，在子墨爸爸工作的

酒店大厅，子墨穿着米色的小礼服弹奏玛林巴，他就像他指尖的音符一样灵动活

跃。

“Everyone watching is blown away and always ask for an encore," he added．

“人人都被他的技艺折服了，不断喝彩要他再来一曲，”赵教授说。

Zhang's enthusiasm and talent continues to develop under the instruction of Greg

Giannascoli，a professor of marimba at the Juilliard School．

子墨的热情和天赋在朱丽娅学院玛林巴教授Greg Giannascoli 的指导下继续得以

发挥。

Despite the language barrier, Giannascoli is already impressed with his student’s

progress, apparent during their first duet performance of Akira Miyoshi's Etude

Concertante at the school on December 12．

尽管存在语语言障碍，Giannascoli对这个学生的进步印象很深，最深刻的要数他和

子墨一起在一2月12日合奏Akira Miyoshi的Etude Concertante二重奏。

“It is a very difficult duet, which has many rhythmically complex sections that are

hard enough to work out when both players speak the same language,”Giannascoli

told the Global Times.

“那是一段非常有难度的二重奏，其中有很多复杂的音部，即使对于讲同样语言

的演奏者来讲，合奏都是非常艰巨的，”Giannascoli告诉环球时报。

“But it was really touching that we were able to successfully put together such a

wonderful and difficult piece of music even though we could not verbally

communicate to fix things," he said．

“尽管我们不能用语言来协调合作，但是我们成功演绎了这部精彩、高难度的乐

章，确实让人感动”他说。

Beijing, New York

北京，纽约

Studying at Julliard has inspired a new musical awareness in Zhang, opening his ears

to the differences in training between the US and China.

在朱丽娅学院学习激起了子墨对音乐更大的热情，让他见识了美国和中国不同的

音乐教育。

“I want to stress to Chinese music students how important cooperation and listening

is in playing．In China, students often play solo in class, where one has more freedom

of expression：but in the U．S．，students also often play in ensembles where anyone

who is not listening to the whole can be picked out immediately.”

“我强烈建议中国学生注意合作和倾听，这在演奏乐器中非常重要。在中国，学

生经常在课堂上一个人演奏，表现的自由度会更大些；而在美国，学生经常在一

起合奏，如果不专注于整体合作就立即和大家合不上节拍。”

As for his musical goals, Zhang is setting his sights high at the top of the classical

percussion world．

“I want to play in the New York Philharmonic, one of the most famous ensembles in

the world as principal percussionist, something no Chinese has ever done．”

关于自己的音乐梦想，子墨把眼光瞄准了世界上顶级交响乐团。

“我想进入纽约爱乐乐团当打击乐首席。它是世界上最著名的交响乐团之一，以

前还没有中国人进入该乐团做这样的首席。”

英文链接：

http://life.globaltimes.cn/life/2010-01/497348.html

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/11/content_12788189.htm