The River of Spring: Beijing Modern Music Festival concludes

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02:35

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony of the 2019 Beijing Modern Music Festival was held at the Central Conservatory of Music on Saturday. Our reporter Yang Ran was there.

A night of Chinese music. Titled "The River of Spring," the festival presents the most prestigious opera and orchestral works composed between 2005 and this year, featuring composers Hao Weiya, Yao Chen, and more. These pieces are inspired by Chinese poetry, landscapes, traditional opera, and music and film.

HAO WEIYA, COMPOSER 'THE RIVER OF SPRING' "The concert starts with my 15-minute segment from my 2014 opera, which was inspired by the 1947 film 'The Spring River Flows East.' I'm very impressed to see the festival showcasing more diversified Chinese music with a more open mind."

YAO CHEN, COMPOSER 'TWO POEMS' "I attended the festival more than 10 years ago and it is my second time here. I wrote the piece in the mood of nostalgia when I was studying at the University of Chicago in 2005. I have studied western classical music, and I have strengthened my self-recognition of our own culture. That is very important to me."

The Beijing Modern Music Festival is a part of the annual World New Music Days of the International Society for Contemporary Music. This is the second year China has hosted the event.

YE XIAO GANG, ARTISTIC DIRECTORBEIJING MODERN MUSIC FESTIVAL "The history of symphonic music in China is less than a century old, but we have made enormous development in this field. The festival is a platform for international musicians and enthusiasts to get to know today's Chinese music and vice versa."

In its 16th edition, the Beijing Modern Music Festival is dedicated to promoting talented Chinese composers and musicians on this platform. And Ye says he will keep up this pace.

YANG RANBEIJING "Starting from the 19th of May, the week-long festival has seen orchestras, composers and experts from France, Poland, the Netherlands, Ireland and China gather in Beijing for a series of mind-blowing concerts, master classes and lectures. The finale concert held on May 25th celebrated the 70th birthday of the People's Republic of China. YR, CGTN, BJ."