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中国各地民间器乐曲常常被赋予一个文字标题。有些标题具有生动活泼的形象提示，与该音乐内容有紧密关联；有些标题可能并非该音乐本身的直接表达，但一定具有某些特定的地域文化指向或语言特征。“曲牌”，便是这种泛标题的总称。《新浪淘沙》是一首活泼的乐曲，具有我国东部江南地区的城市说唱音乐特性。
国乐大师刘天华（1895—1932）在20世纪初就明确主张中国的新音乐形态必须“一方面采取本国固有的精髓，一方面容纳外来的潮流，从中西的调和与合作之中打出一条新路来”。刘天华不仅精通二胡和琵琶，也钻研过小提琴演奏和西洋作曲理论。他在中国音乐史上首开先河，为民间乐器创作乐曲，无论是在表现内容上，还是在形式及技法等方面，都实现了他中西融汇的音乐创作理念，也把二胡这件中国民族乐器带入了专业音乐会和音乐教育的高雅艺术殿堂。钢琴曲《刘天华即兴曲三首》，就是我有感于刘天华简洁明了的创作理念而写。三首即兴曲并不是将二胡原曲简单地移植到钢琴上来，而只是采用原作的旋律片段和音乐意境作为钢琴乐曲再创作的参照，在音乐上具有一定的整体性和内在联系。
1.《空山鸟语》是以现代音乐语言及其表达方式结合传统调式所衍生的钢琴音响造型，表现了人与自然的和谐。
2.《良宵》讲述了除夕之夜，人们在静思默想中不忘对上天的感恩，对父母的孝敬，对亲友的眷顾乃至对邻里的关爱。那份恬静、温馨、安逸令人动情。
3.《光明行》是以中国民族调式谱写的民族器乐进行曲，尤其是为二胡这件以抒情见长的弦乐器谱写进行曲，刘天华是第一人。即兴曲在钢琴上做了进一步的发挥。乐曲中表现出的坚毅和豁达的精神面貌，体现了作曲家乐观进取的生活态度。
踏板的用法与钢琴的音响造型密切相关，同样的乐句采用不同的踏板法（pedalling），音乐形态也不相同。当演奏者以建筑师的目光审视并开始搭建这个“工程”时，音响的形状就自然而然凸显出来了。我在《刘天华即兴曲三首》中制定了多个制音踏板（damper pedal），并详细注释了它们的几种用法：
1.“和声踏板”——踏板的用法是以手足动作反向连续运作（手按键的同时踏板放掉先前音响并获取新的音响），以确保音响的清晰与连贯。在乐谱上标识为相互接续在一个水平线上。
2.“节奏踏板”——音乐的织体是在音符时值较为短促的写法下（节奏因素为主导），手足上下的动作同向同步。在乐谱上的标识是以每个单独的动作为单位，没有横向相互间在视觉上的水平线。“节奏踏板”，可大致理解为“pedalling staccato”。
3.“旋律踏板”——在钢琴织体中无论音程、和声或其他任何因素，在旋律踏板的实际运用中，都要以避免影响或削弱主要音乐线条的清晰度为原则。
4.“特殊音效踏板”——一个长踏板可能会延续数小节或数十小节，以获得丰富的泛音音响，必要时会在标识上加注终止该踏板的小节数。
The Folk instrumental music throughout China often has an image title. Some titles are tips for the music content of the piece, some titles may be a condensed feature of cultural, or local languages of certain regions. Rolling Waves Wash Ashore has a lively style of folk rap music character in cities of the eastern China.
A virtuoso of Chinese music in the early 20th century, Liu Tianhua's(1895-1932) philosophy of "recognizing the essence of indigenous musical culture and learning the Western techniques of instrumentation" has greatly influenced his compositions for Er-hu. This, to me, continues to be an important perception in my contemporary piano compositions.
The piano suite, Liu Tianhua Impromptus, named after Liu's Er-hu pieces, does not merely transplant the tonal notes of Er-hu into simple arrangements. Certain melodic fragments are selected from the original Er-hu composition for free exploratory development in an particular pianistic manner and in a style that preserves and enhances the ambience of its predecessor:
Birds by the Hill - The harmony of man and nature is captured by the use of novel sonorities; created by combining traditional scales and expressions with modern compositional procedures and aesthetics.
New Year's Eve Serenade - Tranquility, contemplation, graciousness, piety, and a sense of caring portrait the domestic contentment on new year's eve. The expressive capacity of the piano, particularly its complement with the pentatonic mode, is amplified by the ingenious use of the sustaining pedal.
The Bright March - The first to compose a March for Er-hu, Liu recognized the instrument for its prized lyrical qualities. The original materials undergoes extensive colorful proliferation and transformation.
The way of Pedalling is closely related to the shape of the piano sound. If the same phrase with a different pedalling, the music image will be clearly in a different kind of tone picture. When a player began to build up the pedalling project as the eyes of an architect to look at the shape of a structure, the audio form naturally emerged. I have detailed marking of several uses in the damper pedal for Liu Tianhua Impromptus in four ways:
1. "Harmonic pedalling"- The reverse operation of the hand and foot movements (while pressing the keys, the pedals are also let go of the previous sound, and a new sound is obtained). The marks on the score are on the horizontal lines that are connected to each other.
2. "Rhythmic pedalling"- The pedal usage is shorter when the note value is shorter (usually the hand and foot movements are in the same direction -"pedal staccato"- to enhance the rhythm factor). The logo on the score is in units of each individual action.
3. "Melodic pedalling"- The melodic pedalling means that the melody line is dominant in the operation of pedal. Any other factors such as interval and harmony should be based on the principle of melody clarity.
4. A special long pedalling can be lasting number of bars to get certain tone picture, or music image. The pedalling mark may indicate the termination by the bar number.
