VIENNA’S Musikverein — the Golden Hall — is renowned for its glorious architecture and sound, both aptly described as golden. But more recently, at least in the eyes of many Chinese, this famed house of classical music is considered a Money Hall or a Karaoke Hall, and has become a backdrop for China’s rich and famous.

    The Wiener Musikverein, home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, has drawn all sorts of eager performers, some talented, some not, to show off their musical skills or maybe just their wealth.

    According to the State-run People’s Daily, between January and August last year, there were 27 performances by some 133 Chinese groups at the Musikverein. On many occasions, they sent tickets as gifts to local Chinese — sometimes paid for by the Chinese Government, Chinese companies or well-heeled individuals.

    Speaking at a session of the government advisory body last week during the annual session of parliament, Tan Lihua, the principal conductor of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, said disparagingly: “Most of our overseas performances are really just recreation for ourselves. They are treated as a joke.”

    He went on to say he was told by a Chinese diplomat in Vienna that most of the Chinese performances at the Golden Hall were like this. Many featured a combination of performing artists who alternately took the stage to perform and took a seat in the audience. Some had videos made of themselves to burnish their reputation back home.

    Tan added that it was getting harder and harder to give away tickets to the Golden Hall.

    The maestro was discussing the state of the arts at a group discussion of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference before the group wound up its meetings this week. He was joined by famous folk singer Song Zuying, also a member of the advisory body, who said she regretted her own role in the rush to sing at the Musikverein.

    “Performing at the Golden Hall was my dream. Then, several days ago, someone told me that newspapers had been criticizing me for starting all these performances there [in 2003]. I now think that I started something undesirable,” she said.

    For a long time, Chinese people’s fascination with the Golden Hall showed no signs of fading. The China National Orchestra was the first high-profile Chinese group to use the Golden Hall in 1998, according to the Southern Weekly newspaper. After this performance, the orchestra was able to build on this glowing reputation.

    The 1998 concert was introduced by a private company, Beijing Jinxiugongda Cultural Communication Center, according to a Shenzhen Evening News report.

    “I met the general manager of the Golden Hall in 1997. He was very interested in helping introduce Chinese folk music in Europe, and agreed to rent the venue to us at 90,000 yuan (US$14,175),” said Wu Jiatong, son of the president of the company.

    The company then contacted the China National Orchestra and related government authorities. As it was the largest Chinese concert in Vienna by then, the Vienna’s city government also joined in the project, promising to pay for the rent, travel and accommodation expenses.

    “There were very few Chinese concerts held in Vienna at that time, so the concert attracted huge attention in Austria. All the expenses, even promotions and broadcasting expenses, were sponsored by local companies. The Chinese Government did not pay anything for the concert,” Wu said.

    The concert was an enormous success in Vienna, and was reported by many national media outlets in China. The Golden Hall became the “golden hall of top music” in the mind of many Chinese.

    “The concert at the Golden Hall was also a turning point for the China National Orchestra. During the following years, they were invited to perform across the country. They could make more than 200,000 yuan for one concert. Before 1998, the orchestra even had difficulty in paying salaries,” an unidentified insider said.

    Since then, a growing number of domestic art troupes have visited the Golden Hall as a stepping-stone to fame, from folk musicians to music students, business executives to retirees.

    Even though the Ministry of Culture issued a ban to halt government-paid performances at the Golden Hall in 2010, many troupes were still passionate about the Golden Hall.

    “Many people still thought that they could get to a higher level after performing at the venue, but it was no longer like that,” said Chen Ping, the Chinese cultural counselor in Germany.

    Like many other world-renowned music halls or opera houses, the Golden Hall has its performing season from October to June in the following year, during which high-quality classical musicians from different parts of the world are invited to perform there. Off peak season, the hall is either closed for maintenance or rented out by classic music performers for their own performances.

    “It is actually a very good music hall,” Chen said. “Most of those performers went there to realize their musical dreams.”

    “There should be no blame for those who want to perform at the Golden Hall,” Wu Jiatong, general manager of Wu Promotion based in Beijing, told the Global Times earlier. “The Golden Hall is not state-owned; it relies on its rent to survive. By renting the hall, Chinese performers can enjoy themselves, and that’s all,” said Wu.

    (SD-Agencies)