Source: Yangcheng Evening News Yunshang Lingnan Author: Wang Jun, Wang Lei Publication time: 2023-09-13 18:38
The 2023 Shenzhen Belt and Road International Music Festival kicked off with a grand opening concert at the Shenzhen Concert Hall. Artists from around the world gathered on stage to showcase a stunning repertoire of 12 musical masterpieces, seamlessly blending classical and modern compositions.
Running from September 8th to October 31st, this year’s music festival promises a total of 59 international performances over 54 days in Shenzhen.
The opening concert of the festival showcased a unique lineup of musical themes, featuring compositions from countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The program also included performances using national instruments from these areas.
The symphonic masterpiece, “In the Steppes of Central Asia,” composed by Russian composer Alexander Porphyrievitch Borodin in 1880, opened the festival. The Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra delivered a captivating rendition, blending Russian melodies with Eastern tunes, creating a harmonious atmosphere within the concert hall.
The first half of the concert featured world-renowned soprano Angela Gheorghiu performing the aria “Habanera” from the operas “Carmen” and “Ebben? – Ne andrò lontana (Well then? – I shall go far away)” from “La Wally,” as well as Chilean tenor Jonathan Tetelman’s renditions of “Mother, That Wine Is Strong” from “Rustic Chivalry” and “No One Sleeps in Pekino Tonight” from “Turandot.” French violinist Laurent Korcia played the first movement of his violin concerto, “One Thousand and One Nights.” Gheorghiu and Tetelman also joined forces for “When I Am Near You” from “Andrea Chénier.”
The second half of the concert featured an enchanting performance of the “Chaahar Fantasia” by renowned tar player Sahib Pashazada. Krzysztof Jablonski, a distinguished pianist and the head of the Piano and Keyboard Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), brought the audience to their feet with Chopin’s “Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante.” Soprano Guo Sen, pianist Edoardo Turbil, violinist Laurent Korcia, and cellist Karen Kocharyan collaborated to create a mesmerizing rendition of “Dancing on the Silk Road,” brimming with the flavors of the ancient trade routes.
The grand finale of the opening concert was the large-scale vocal symphonic suite “Ode to Heroes,” produced in Shenzhen.
Edoardo Turbil, the celebrated pianist, expressed his excitement, describing the opening concert as a delightful artistic experience that brought together musicians from diverse cultures and regions to perform timeless classics.
Shenzhen: Musicians from many countries participate in the “Belt and Road” International Music Festival
Recently, the opening concert of the 2023 Shenzhen “Belt and Road” International Music Season was held at the Shenzhen Concert Hall. Artists from all over the world performed on the same stage, performing a total of 12 world-class music masterpieces, with classical and modern complementing each other.
This music season will be held from September 8 to October 31, and 59 international art feasts will be performed in Shenzhen within 54 days.
According to reports, the opening concert of this music season is unique in its program arrangement. Among them, there are not only music themed medleys of countries and regions co-constructed by the “Belt and Road”, but also performances of national musical instruments of the countries and regions co-constructed by the “Belt and Road”.
The famous symphony piece “Central Asia Steppes” kicked off this music season. The work was composed in 1880 by Russian composer Alexander Borodin. In this concert, the symphony was brilliantly performed by the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, with Russian melodies and oriental tunes harmoniously intertwined in the concert hall.
In the first half of the concert, world-class soprano Angela Georgiou performed the opera “Carmen” excerpts “Habanera” and the opera “Valley” excerpts “Leave Home and Go Far Away”; Chilean tenor singer Jonathan Titman presented the excerpt “Mama, this wine is so strong” from the opera “Cavalier Rusticana” and the excerpt “Nessun Dorma” from the opera “Turandot”; French violinist Laurent Cocia performed the violin concerto ” The first movement of “One Thousand and One Nights in Harlem”; the excerpt “Close to You” from the opera “André Chenier” presented by Georgiou and Titman, etc.
The second half of the concert included the music “Chahar Rhapsody” performed by the famous Tahrist Sahib Parshazadeh; Chris, the famous pianist and director of the Piano and Keyboard Academic and Academic Department of the School of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) Jablonski brought Chopin’s famous piece “Calm Andante and Gorgeous Polonaise”; the famous soprano Guo Sen and the famous pianist Eduardo Tubil, the famous violinist Lauren Cocia, the famous cello Performer Karen Kocharian performed “Dancing Silk Road” full of Silk Road style, etc.
The large-scale vocal symphony suite “Ode to Heroes” produced by Shenzhen brought a successful conclusion to the opening concert of this music season.
The famous pianist Eduardo Tubil used the word “surprise” to describe the opening concert of this music season. He believes that it is an excellent artistic experience to collaborate with musicians from different cultures and regions to perform timeless masterpieces.
Text | Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Wang Jun
Videos and pictures｜Wang Lei, all-media reporter of Yangcheng Evening News
Translation | Liu Jiahui
Editor | Wang Yuying
