Bringing Her Cat Tale to Life
December 22, 2000
Amy Tan to narrate The Chinese Siamese Cat with San Francisco Symphony
By Gerrye Wong
San Francisco Symphony will present a delightful concert for the entire family with author Amy Tan who will narrate from two of her novels, The Chinese Siamese Cat and The Joy Luck Club, with accompaniment by the symphony orchestra.
Renowned author Tan is one of contemporary literature’s brightest novelists, and her work has been translated into 24 languages with over 27 million books in print. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Tan has published works that include The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses. Her two children’s books are The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat.
On the eve of a departure for China, Tan spoke with AsianWeek about her upcoming research in Yunnan Province for a new book, and also of the exciting San Francisco Symphony collaboration performance when she returns in January.
AsianWeek: It was just announced you will narrate passages from some of your books to the accompaniment of the San Francisco Symphony. How did this come about?
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| The book cover of Tan’s children’s book The Chinese Siamese Cat. |
Amy Tan: The idea came from George Daugherty, the producer of my new PBS television series The Chinese Siamese Cat, which will premier in the fall of 2001. George had worked with the San Francisco Symphony on other projects, and they asked him to come up with a program for the Chinese New Year. He and I had worked together on a similar production last July at the Hollywood Bowl so he asked me if I would like to do it again.
AW: As an author, how did it feel to perform live on stage instead of through the pages of a book?
AT: I love music and its many moods, and oftentimes write best with music. Although I have never been on stage much, I found the experience thrilling, especially after reading the many notes from children who told me how they loved seeing my characters seemingly come to life through my reading, the music and the visual symbols on the screen. Performing, I guess whether it be via print or on stage, is simply trying to connect with the audience, but I did feel more confident after taking some voice counseling.
AW: Since The Chinese Siamese Cat is a children’s book, is this program geared for children or adults or both?
AT: I would say it will be of interest to all members of a family. The adults will love it for the original music and the Symphony Orchestra’s performance. Children will find it a unique experience to hear the way music can accompany a story, and the wonderful sound effects individual instruments can make. At the Hollywood Bowl, children especially seemed delighted upon hearing the sounds violins made to interpret cat yowls.
AW: How much of the musical aspect of the program did you oversee?
AT: George commissioned Nathan Wang to compose music for the program. George will conduct the San Francisco Symphony as it plays Nathan’s beautiful Butterfly Lover’s Concerto with Grammy-nominated Erhu (Chinese violin) player Jiebin Chen. We worked together in regards to the timing of my readings and picking the selections. We are also using parts of the musical score from the Joy Luck Club movie while showing visuals on screen of the movie during the program.
AW: How did you come about writing your award-winning book The Chinese Siamese Cat?
AT: I once had a cat we called Sagwa, which means melon-head. When she was 17, she had renal failure and the vet said she would die within a month. I was crushed. One night I had a dream about her and told my friend Gretchen Shields about it. She said that my dream would make a wonderful children’s story, so we developed the story about Sagwa living in ancient China and she did the illustrations.
AW: What happened to your own Sagwa?
AT: Unbelievably she lived for four more years. It seemed as if knowing I was writing her story kept her going so she could see how the book turned out.
AW: Since you’re a San Franciscan yourself, do you think this program will be a good way to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
AT: I think it will be a culturally rich concert for the whole family. Our evening’s repertoire will include works by Rachel Portman, Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. Our guest artists include the distinguished Chinese instrumentalists Cynthis Hsinmei Hsiang and Zhiming Han. So this truly will be a Chinese program to open everyone’s awareness of the Chinese New Year festivities.
AW: When does this program begin?
AT: Our “Chinese New Year Celebration with Amy Tan” will have two performances, January 14 and 18. On Sunday, January 14, following the Davies Symphony Hall performance at the Wattis Room, we will offer a special celebration event for those interested. In the Wattis Room, an artists champagne reception and book signing with George, Gretchen Schields, members of the S.F. Symphony and myself will be held, as chaired by my good friends Joan Chen and Ann Getty.
On the following Thursday, January 18, preceding the performance from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Green Room of the War Memorial Veterans Building, we will present “The Foolish Magistrate’s Fanfare” where patrons can feast on dim sum provided by Yank Sing Restaurant, and Firecracker Martinis provided by Grey Goose Vodka. A parade of dragon dancers and illuminated lanterns will escort the diners to Davies to continue the celebration with our performance.
AW: You’ll barely be returning from China in time for this production. Does that make you apprehensive?
AT: Not really. I just hope I won’t be too tired. We’ll spend three weeks, mostly in the Yunnan Province near Kunming where my mother grew up. We plan to go into the mountain areas and do a lot of hiking, which my husband loves. I prefer skiing myself, but in any event, I don’t want to come home with any broken bones.
I have utmost confidence in George Daugherty. He is very popular with San Francisco audiences, having served as executive producer and creative director in the development of Michael Tilson Thomas’ acclaimed Music for Families Concerts. He is truly a talented man.
I will always admire him. One thing that will forever endear him to me is what he once did for my mother before she died. He knew that although her mind wasn’t altogether there and that she was quite feeble, she loved music and dancing. He invited us to hear his rehearsal of a Rogers and Hammerstein concert he was preparing. With only her and me in the audience, she excitedly thought they were playing just for her, and she just loved it. Although she barely talked in those days, there she was, humming along with the music.
AW: Anything else you want to tell our readers?
AT: I look forward to seeing and meeting them all to celebrate the opening of the Chinese New Year together at the January concerts. If not, I can meet them again through the pages of my next novel, The Bone Setter’s Daughter, which will be released in February of next year.
AW: Tell us about The Bone Settler’s Daughter.
AT: It is a family generational tale set in 1920s San Francisco and the area of China where Peking Man was discovered, Zhou Kou Dian. Hope you like it.
Concert Tickets $18-45; Artists Reception and Concert package $45-$125; Foolish Magistrate’s Fanfare pre-concert party and concert $175-350. $350 ticket holders, in addition to attending concert, are invited to a private post party hosted by Ann and George Getty. All tickets and packages are available through SFS Ticket Services at 415-864-6000 or online at www.sfsymphony.org.
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