A Chinese folk music concert by Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Beautiful melodies will fill Shanghai again as the 33rd Shanghai Spring International Music Festival starts tonight.
The festival, which goes back more than 50 years, will run from today to May 18. So far, the schedule includes more than 50 shows and events presented by both domestic and international artists.
About 5,000 discounted tickets are available at 30 yuan ($4.62) each.
"The festival will keep on providing opportunities for emerging musicians and will encourage original works," composer Xu Shuya, an official of the festival committee, said.
The festival this year will open at Shanghai Symphony Hall with a collection of the best original works that have been presented in previous years, including the symphonic poem "Ode to the Red Flag," the violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers," the symphonic suite "Sketch of Jinling" and "Erhu Rhapsody No.2". The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will help stage the classics, while young talents like violinist Chen Jiayi and Lu Yiwen will also participate.
On the same night, "The White-haired Girl," a Chinese ballet theater, will be restaged at Shanghai Grand Theater by Shanghai Ballet, starring Fan Xiaofeng, Wu Husheng and Li Chenchen.
In addition to that, the festival will also present concerts with the works of Chinese composers Lu Qiming, Zhao Jiping and Yu Xunfa. A serial concert featuring original Chinese piano works from the past 100 years will give insights into the development of piano music in China.
More than 10 original works will be staged this year, including the recently composed works featuring the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.
The contemporary ballet "Echoes of Eternity" which tells the legend of a Tang Dynasty (AD618-907) emperor who falls in love with his concubine will also be shown.
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande from Switzerland, Orchestra 2001 from the US, Academy of Ancient Music from Britain, Jose Cura from Argentina and Chung Myung-whun from South Korea will also participate in the festival.
A series of performances by artists from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road will be a new highlight of the festival program arrangements.
The Tehran Symphony Orchestra will stage the closing concert for the Festival on May 18, while artists of the Kazakh National Instrumental Orchestra, Hayrullo Dadoboyev Folk Group, Dance Ensemble Bazamoro from Tajikistan, and the folklore and ethnographical ensemble "Kambarkan" of the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic will present three Central-Asia concerts from May 11 to 15.
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music will be open to the public from May 8 to 14. With an online reservation, members of the public can attend rehearsals, lectures, lessons and even master and doctoral defenses.
Visit www.ssimf.org and www.shcmusic.edu.cn for more information.
Mini Festival
THE mini festival "When Baroque Meets England" will be held at Shanghai Concert Hall from May 6-8 as part of the Shanghai Spring Festival.
Britten Sinfonia, the resident orchestra of the festival, will present the concerts "The Two Ends of the Music History" and "Shakespeare."
The program includes works of well-known British composers like Purcell, Britten, Tippett and Huw Watkins, which helps elaborate the development of British music. Corelli, Handel and Bach will also be featured.
