We begin today with the annual Beijing Modern Music Festival. At this year's event, a special CONCERT dedicated to renowned Chinese composer Guan Xia was staged at the Beijing Concert Hall on Tuesday night. The concert featured the China National Symphony Orchestra and many of Guan's most famous pieces were presented.

The concert opened with "Symphony Overture No.1", a famous piece composed by Guan Xia in 2003, which has since been played by many renowned orchestras in China and around the globe. During the night, the China National Symphony Orchestra went under the baton of Chinese Grammy-winning conductor Tang Muhai. Entitled "Hope - Portrait Concert of Guan Xia", it is the first special concert dedicated to Guan and his works.

GUAN XIA COMPOSER "This is the first special concert of me and of my work. Many of my friends said I have composed so much music for others, why don't I hold a concert of just my work? I feel very grateful for their recognition and I think this is going to be a good start for our composers. More work by us will be heard and appreciated by the public."

"Yi" - one of Guan's latest pieces for violin and orchestra was put on stage, with young Chinese violinist Zhu Dan leading the piece. The 36-year old musician is widely recognized as one of the leading musicians of his generation on the international stage today. It was not the first time for him to play Guan's music. Zhu says Guan has contributed a lot to the development of music both in China and around the world.

Guan Xia himself said the violin piece "Yi" was inspired by his experiences as he travelled to south China's Yunnan Province some 30 years ago.

GUAN XIA COMPOSER " 'Yi' is a recent piece I composed based on my journey to Yunnan Province 34 years ago, where I met the Yi ethnic group. I have been there twice and the second time when I was there I saw their living standards had greatly improved. The road was fixed and they lived in newly-built houses and each time when I went there the Yi people used their folk dances and songs to welcome me. So I decided to compose this piece based on the culture and tradition of the Yi ethnic group and also express my appreciation to them through my work."

As a renowned Chinese composer, Guan Xia was featured among a recent list of 'One Hundred Outstanding Contemporary Artists' produced by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Many of his other works were also presented during the special concert including "Mulan Psalm" and "Farewell My Concubine". The opera "Mulan Psalm" was the first Chinese opera ever to be staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in Moscow. And symphonic fantasy "Farewell My Concubine" has been referred as one of the "Oriental Classics" by world music critics, after it was presented at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City in 2006.