Noël Lee was a globetrotting pianist and composer who also served for over 3 years during World War II and had a particular passion for the study of music for piano four hands.
Noël Lee是一位环球钢琴家和作曲家，在第二次世界大战期间也服役了3年多，对钢琴四手音乐的研究特别热情。
Born in Nanjing on 25 December, 1924, Lee unfortunately did not remain in our fair city very long. Just 7 months in fact, before he did his first bit of globetrotting, across the Pacific Ocean, at the time quite a journey for someone not yet a toddler.
李于1924年12月25日出生在南京，不幸的是，他并没有在我们美丽的城市停留太久。 事实上，在他第一次环游太平洋之前，只有7个月，对于一个还不是蹒跚学步的人来说，这是一次相当的旅程。
Once there, it could be argued that Lee began his musical career aged just 5, with his studies of music in Lafayette, in the US State of Indiana.
一旦到了那里，可以争辩说，李5岁时就开始了他的音乐生涯，在美国印第安纳州的拉斐特学习音乐。
It was then on to two prominent institutions for his higher education. At Harvard, Lee studied under music theorist and professor of music, Walter Piston. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lee increased his musical knowledge exponentially at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in its iconic Edwin Abbot House, a prime example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture.
然后，他接受了两家著名的高等教育机构。 在哈佛，李师从音乐理论家兼音乐教授沃尔特·皮斯顿。 在马萨诸塞州剑桥，李在巴德学院的朗基音乐学院的标志性埃德温·阿博特之家的音乐知识成倍增加，这是理查森罗马式建筑的典范。
Speaking of Europe, anyone serious about piano is going to be connected in some way to France.
说到欧洲，任何对钢琴认真的人都会以某种方式与法国联系在一起。
And so it was for Lee who went to Paris in 1948, to continue his education under the guidance of Nadia Boulanger, the leading conductor who taught many of the 20th century’s finest composers and musicians. Under her, Lee was to win the Lili Boulanger Composition Prize. Of Lee, Boulanger wrote, “Lee is one of the finest musicians I have met. [A] composer with a real personality, he has refinement, a sense of the hierarchy of values and a total understanding of the works”.
1948年去巴黎的李也是这样，在Nadia Boulanger的指导下继续他的教育，Nadia Boulanger是主要指挥家，他教过许多20世纪最好的作曲家和音乐家。 在她手下，Lee将获得Lili Boulanger作曲奖。 關於Lee，Boulanger寫道：「Lee是我見過的最好的音樂家之一。 [一个]具有真实个性的作曲家，他有精炼、价值观层次感和对作品的全面理解。”
The awards were soon to start piling up. When Lee was still just 35, the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him in recognition of his creative work in general.
奖项很快就开始堆拚。 当李只有35岁时，美国艺术与文学学院授予他奖项，以表彰他的总体创作工作。
Back in France, he career was to culminate with the French government’s Department of Cultural Affairs awarding Lee the grade of Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1998. The city of Paris awarded him the Grand Prix de la Musique the following year and la Grande Médaille in 2004.
回到法国，他的职业生涯在1998年达到高潮，法国政府文化事务部授予李艺术和文学指挥官。 第二年，巴黎市授予他音乐大奖，2004年授予他大奖。
Back on US soil once more, and in an interview with Bruce Duffie on the website, kcstudio.com, Lee was asked, “When you get to a new location, how long does it take to make the piano your own?”.
再次回到美国，在kcstudio.com网站上接受Bruce Duffie的采访时，Lee被问到：“当你到达一个新地点时，需要多长时间才能把钢琴变成你自己的？”。
Lee replied, “It’s a question of making the piano one’s own and being used to the instrument that you have for a few hours. It doesn’t take long to see what an instrument can do. But, as always, the best rehearsal is the concert itself”.
Lee回答说：“这是一个让钢琴成为自己的问题，并习惯你拥有的几个小时的乐器。 没花多长时间就能看到仪器能做什么。 但是，和往常一样，最好的排练是音乐会本身。”
Many notable others have also spoken highly of Lee throughout the years. Among them, Aaron Copland, whose compositions include “Fanfare for the Common Man”, a major hit for Emerson, Lake and Palmer in 1977. Copland is credited by some as creating the soul of American music through its evoking of the country’s vast landscapes. Of Lee, Copland said, “Here is a composer who writes his music with his eyes wide open, and with a kind of cool intensity the defines his personality… Music to him is a natural language, a language he uses without strain or mannerism… No matter how complex the textures may be, the musical discourse is always lucid and reasoned”.
多年来，许多著名的其他人也高度评价了李。 其中，Aaron Copland，他的作品包括1977年艾默生、莱克和帕尔默的热门歌曲《普通人大张旗鼓》。 科普兰被一些人认为，它通过唤起该国广阔的风景，创造了美国音乐的灵魂。 关于Lee，Copland说：“这里有一位作曲家，他睁大眼睛写音乐，以一种冷静的强度定义了他的个性……对他来说，音乐是一种自然语言，他使用的语言没有紧张或举止……无论纹理多么复杂，音乐话语总是清晰和理性的。”
Lee passed away on 15 July, 2013. For anyone serious about music, a study of Lee’s career is both an essential and fascinating glimpse into the mind of a master. And a Great Nanjinger.
Lee于2013年7月15日去世。 对于任何认真对待音乐的人来说，对李的职业生涯的研究既是对大师思想的重要又引人入胜的一瞥。 和一个伟大的南京人。