Joint Singing Makes a Beautiful and Harmonious World
—— "Silk Road" Tour Performances of Chinese National Music
Group Photo of Chinese and Hungarian Guests after“Silk Road”Performance
Group Photo of Chinese and Iranian Musicians
Scene of the Performance
Group Photo of Chinese and Hungarian Guests at the Reception after Performance
Chinese Musicians of JCNO Paid a Visit to Esfahan University
Performance at Tehran
"This cooperation reminds me of a saying by Kodaly Zoltan, 'singing can make a fine life and singers can make others feel fine. If all of us join in singing, the world will change into a beautiful and harmonious society.' Thus our job is to extend such a spirit of Kodaly into the reality.”said Csikai Ildiko, president of Kodaly's World Nonprofit LLC (KWNLLC). His words accurately conveyed the cultural theme of "Silk Road" series of performances in Hungary, Iran and Egypt in late September, 2017.
Melody Full of Touching and Lingering Senses
"As one of the countries along the ancient Silk Road, Hungary is the first one in Europe to sign the agreement for 'B&R' Initiative with China. It is also a country of outstanding musical achievement. Such famous musicians as Franz Liszt, Béla Viktor János Bartók, Kodaly Zoltan and Franz Erkel came from Hungary. Their concepts, composition and experience of innovation have exerted a positive impact upon the musical development of China and even the entire world," said HAN Xin' an, executive vice president and secretary general of China Musicians Association (CMA) . By staging the premiere of "Silk Road" tour at Budapest, capital of Hungary, Chinese sponsors expected to inherit and promote the Silk Road Spirits in this new age by means of music.
On the evening of September 15, the special concert titled "Silk Road", jointly sponsored by CFLAC, KWNLLC and CMA, was staged at Korosi Csoma Sandor Cultural Center in Zone 10 of Budapest. In this concert, Jasmine Chinese National Orchestra (JCNO) as a winner of Golden Bell Award from CMA, Kodaly World Orchestra and Kodaly World Chorus, along with the Hungarian violinist Nedo Olga, dedicated a colorful and charming repertoire of traditional Chinese music and classic Hungarian melody. The performance was highly praised and appreciated among Hungarian audiences and overseas Chinese compatriots in Hungary. Distinguished attendees at this concert were LI Yi, executive vice president of CFLAC, DUAN Jielong, Chinese Ambassador to Hungary, HAN Xin' an, executive vice president and secretary general of CMA, WANG Zheng, cultural counselor of Chinese Embassy in Hungary, and ZOU Jianping, president of LIU Tianhua-A Bing Chinese National Music Foundation(LTABCNMF).
The first program in this concert was the joint performance of Kálló Double Dance and Joyous Festival by musicians from China and Hungary, which represented the harmonious cultural exchange between the two countries. Then came A Journey to Suzhou by flute instrumentalist LIU Qiang, Ambush from All Sides by Pipa player CHEN Yin, The Moon Mirrored in the Erquan Spring and Horse Race by Erhu player ZHU Changyao, Hundred Birds' Ode to Phoenix by young Suona player ZHANG Qianyuan, Chinese music A Beautiful Jasmine as well as Hungarian Dance and Victorious by Hungarian violinist Nedo Olga, one after another, all of which won waves upon waves of applauses. When the concert came to an end, the conductor of Kodaly World Chorus, out of excitement, unexpechedly made a request for the entire audience to stand up and sing a famous song in Hungary Wish You a Good Night for JCNO that came all the way from China. In this touching and lingering melody, the concert concluded in great success. In order to enable Hungarian people to understand traditional Chinese music, a particular introduction to the typical Chinese national musical instruments as well as representative repertoire was included in the brochure, which received a warm welcome and good remarks from Hungarian audiences. Full of praise over this excellent concert, Szinetár Miklós, famous director and president of National Opera House of Hungary, and Szilasi Alex, reputable pianist in Hungary, considered this “Silk Road” concert to be a feast of Chinese music for Hungarian people.
On September 20 pending the 68th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China, the special "Silk Road" concert , jointly sponsored by CFLAC, Chinese Embassy in Iran and CMA, was held in Tehran Museum of Music to showcase the colorful charm of Chinese national music. This concert was starred by JCNO and headed by ZHU Changyao, president of Jiangsu Musicians Association who is also a well-known Erhu instrumentalist. The distinguished attendees were Ali Moradkhani, the deputy minister of Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran, PANG Sen, Chinese Ambassador to Iran, HAN Xin’an, executive vice president and secretary general of CMA, ZOU Jianping, president of LTABCNMF and YANG Lijuan, secretary general of LTABCNMF, as well as local reputable musicians from Tehran Museum of Music, National Symphony Orchestra of Iran, and Tehran University and celebrities from all walks of life. It totaled over 300 audiences. In high spirits and with consummate skills, Chinese musicians presented well-known melodies of China and Iran such as A Journey to Suzhou, Ambush from All Sides, Hundred Birds' Ode to Phoenix, The Moon Mirrored in the Erquan Spring and Iran!. For this excellent performance of distinct Chinese national feature and strong artistic influence, the local audiences offered thundering of applauses from time to time and conducted a close interaction and exchange with Chinese musicians in the wake of the performance.
After over ten hours of air journey with a stop-over, the 17-member JCNO finally arrived at Cairo, capital of Egypt on the early morning of September 22. On the same evening, they staged a special concert in Cairo Opera House (COH) with a history of over a century. Inès Abdel Daïm, the vice minister of Egyptian Ministry of Culture & Chair of COH, SONG Aiguo, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt and his wife, SHI Yuewen, cultural counselor of Chinese Embassy in Egypt and director general of Chinese Culture Center in Cairo as well as 300 celebrities from all walks of life, such as representatives of Chinese Embassy in Egypt, industrial and commercial circles and COH watched the performance. The wonderful performance by Chinese musicians gained constant applauses and when Chinese musicians presented Charms of Egypt by famous Egyptian composer Omar Hailar, the whole atmosphere reached its climax of enthusiasm.
To the pride and excitement of JCNO, they were invited by Chinese Embassy in Egypt to participate in its reception in celebration of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and stage guestd performance in Ritz Carlton Hotel in Cairo on the evening of September 24. The reception was filled with a festive atmosphere and the distinguished guests at this reception were Mahmoud El-Sharif, first deputy speaker of Egypt parliament, Tarek Kabil, representative of Egyptian Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry，Khaled Abdel Ghafar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research，Hisham Ahmed, Minister of Transportation，Ashraf El-Sharkawy, Minister of Public Sector Affairs，Yasser Murad, assistant foreign minister for Asian affairs, Mohamed Hussein El-Mahrsawy, acting president of Al-Azhar University，Essam Sharaf, the former Egyptian Prime Minister， Ahmad Wali, chair of the Egypt-China Friendship Association. Some officials at the vice ministerial level from Ministries of Defense, Culture and Agriculture, the responsible persons of major political parties in Egypt, representatives from League of Arab States, diplomats and officers from foreign embassies in Egypt, friendly celebrities from all walks of life attended wich reception wich became a grand gathering of over 800 people. Many Chinese famous melodies such as Blooming Flowers in the Full Moon, Hundred Birds’ Ode to Phoenix, Horse Race, Jasmine Flower, Tone of Purple Bamboo, and Colorful Cloud in Chase of the Moon were presented and changed the reception into a joyous of family reunion.
Fruitful Achievement in Theme Exchange of "Silk Road"
The "Silk Road" series successfully demonstrated the charm of Chinese national music as well as excellent traditional cultural connotation to the mainstream society, cultural celebrities and foreign envoys in Hungary, Iran and Egypt. Besides highly-remarked performances, they gained a fruitful achievement in music exchange as well. During the visit in Hungary, CMA and KWNLLC signed MOU at Korosi Csoma Sandor Cultural Center. In Iran, some Chinese musicians paid a visit to Esfahan University where they gave a on-the-spot illustration of various national musical instruments with classic masterpieces. In a bosom and friendly atmosphere of exchange, both sides expressed the willingness to further exchange and cooperation so as to enhance the musical development of the two countries. During their stay in Egypt, vice minister of Egyptian Culture met with Chinese delegation to conduct an in-depth discussion concerning China-Egypt art exchange and cooperation in music. With a retrospect in the exchange and reference history in music betheen two civilizations along the ancient Silk Road and after a brief introduction of the national musical instruments and current development, both parties looked forward to establishing platforms of creation, performance and exchange so as to ensure common development in the future.
Concerning the theme of these serial performances, HAN Xin’an explained that the Silk Road is a passage of friendship as well as trade. In the long course of friendly communications, the Silk Road Spirit of cooperation, inclusiveness, mutual learning and reference has gradually come into being. In the new circumstance, Chinese President XI Jinping put forward “B&R” Initiative in order to awake the historical memory of the countries along this Silk Road, inherit and promote the Silk Road Spirit, and endow this ancient passage with a brand-new connotation for the current age. These serial performances with the title of“Silk Road”were in nature the echoing of“B&R”Initiative in music. "This performance has opened a new path for Hungarian people to know about China and feel about Chinese culture. The "B&R" Initiative in the advocacy of Chinese government has gained massive sympathy and support from the government and the people in Hungary. As a legendary saying goes in Chinese culture, 'sublime music will find understanding friends'. We hope that Hungarian people and their government will become the understanding friends in the Chinese people's course of national rejuvenation," said WANG Xinyi, cultural attaché of Chinese Embassy in Hungary.
