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BEIJING, Oct.10 (Xinhuanet) --With a Chinese conductor, a Latvian cellist, and a Korean violinist, the 18th Beijing Music Festival has kicked off at the Forbidden City Concert Hall. For opening night, the program listed some quintessentially Chinese offerings.
The concert began with 'Peking Opera Moments', a commissioned piece composed by Chinese composer Chen Qigang. Chen was also the director of Music for Beijing's 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony.
At the podium was world-renowned Chinese conductor, Long Yu, artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival as well as the China Philharmonic Orchestra. He founded the music festival in 1998, navigating it through great changes in the Chinese classical-music scene.
"Classical music faces a lot of challenges in China. It is quite a small circle. However, I believe the majority is often led by minorities in respect of culture as opposed to entertainment. The development of classical music in China can not be separated from the Beijing Music Festival. So right now, we just want to keep the festival on the right track and keep its professional orientation," said Long Yu, conductor of Artistic Director of BMF.
The second piece, 'Variations on a Chinese Melody', featured maestro cellist Mischa Maisky. His rendition of 'Jasmine Flower Song' reached the heights of musical poetry.
Born in Latvia and educated in Russia, Maisky has visited, performed, and taught in China for decades. He too has witnessed great changes in the classical-music scene here.
The concert began with 'Peking Opera Moments', a commissioned piece composed by Chinese composer Chen Qigang. Chen was also the director of Music for Beijing's 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony.
"I think it's tremendous development in classical music but also of course in everything else. Everytime I have chance to come back to China and see how much it is growing in different ways, and classical music as well. From orchestras to young musicians, explosion, quality and quantity and the concert halls. Beijing Music Festival is the best proof of how it developed. So I'm very honored to share this little part of this development. I just hope that there will be more occasions like this in the future," said Mischa Maisky, cellist.
The last piece of the concert was Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, brought to earth by renowned Korean violinist, Kyung Wha Chung. A prolific recording artist over her 40-year career, she is celebrated throughout the world for her dazzling artistry. For her, the strains of music exceed those of childbirth!
"When I was making recordings, just had my second child and my mother said I was pulling my hair. My husband said it's like giving birth to a child. And I said no, giving birth to a child is joy. But giving birth to composition, continuous grow, it's for me, I think I'm never good enough, because there are such possibilities," Kyung Wha Chung, violinist.
Maisky and Chung are the first in an august roster of world-renowned performers coming to the 18th Beijing Music Festival. It runs through October the 24th.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
