Concert dedicated to cultural understanding

A London audience enjoyed a night of Chinese and Western music in the United Kingdom capital's Duke's Hall on June 30.

The concert started with the violin solo Laughing in Vernal Breeze, which was followed by Amanisa, a symphonic poem performed on the erhu, a two-string Chinese instrument.

Nine Horses, a work by the prominent Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang, was next, inspired by Peking Opera and the folk music of Vietnam and Indonesia and offering a fusion of Eastern lyricism and Western modernism.

The post-intermission portion of the concert was dedicated to a chamber music version of Austro-Bohemian romantic composer Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 4, as rearranged by Austrian musician Erwin Stein in 1921.

As the night, presented by the Wuxi Symphony Orchestra from East China's Jiangsu province, came to an end, the audience rewarded performers with rapturous applause.

Mick Davies, president of the Royal Society of British Artists, described the performances as "absolutely fantastic".

"It's incredible. It's worth skipping the football match," he said after the concert, which happened on the same night as an important soccer game between England and Slovakia.

The event was part of the China-UK Cultural Exchange Concert, which was organized by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and China Musicians Association, with support from China's Embassy in the UK. The June 30 concert was co-organized by the UK branch of the European Times. The Chinese musicians' visit was aimed at fostering mutual learning between China and UK.

Ye, the composer who is also chairman of the China Musicians Association, said the association was very pleased to have been able to take musical troupes from different Chinese provinces and cities on overseas visits to promote Chinese culture.

The association has been dedicated to enhancing global cultural exchange through music and promoting China's musical heritage since its establishment, Ye said.

"I hope we can better promote China's contemporary music to the world," Ye added.

He explained that, at the June 30 concert, Chinese performances represent music from different regions and works by artists of different ages, expressing various aspects of China.

Ye described the presentation of Mahler's Symphony No 4 as "very emotional" and said the audience was clearly "touched".

"They are all well-chosen and well-performed," Ye said of the works presented. "It's important to tell China's story in ways that are familiar with Western audiences in cultural exchanges.

"With regards to interpretations of Western classic music, we need to put Chinese understanding in it. When we present Chinese music to foreign audiences, we don't imitate the Western way, but we need to have some Western techniques in presenting it.

"We employ Chinese music to express the common vision of humankind, which would be understood and touch the heart of a global audience."