Nouvelles d'Europe - 2nd London International Chinese Music Festival Concludes 


Review by Nouvelles d'Europe
https://www.oushinet.com/static/content/qj/qjnews/2024-08-09/1271504932529277082.html

The second London International Chinese Music Festival, which lasted for a week, concluded on 27 July at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. This festival provided an opportunity for Chinese music enthusiasts in the UK and Europe to engage and learn.

Building on the success of the inaugural festival in 2023, this year's event expanded to include five concerts in Birmingham, Cambridge, and London, a five-day national music summer school, masterclasses, ensemble sessions, salons, workshops, dual-certified examinations and competitions, as well as supplementary courses in calligraphy and painting.

The 2024 London International Chinese Music Festival was organised by Dr. Cheng Yu, a pipa and guqin performer based in the UK, and hosted by Chinese Arts UK, the London Youlan Qin Society, and UKCM(UK Chinese Music), with the support of the School of Oriental and African Studies and the CHINA NATIONALITIES ORCHESTRA SOCIETY. The festival received funding from the UK Arts Council.

Guqin master Li Pengpeng, who has performed classical guqin pieces such as "Flowing Water" for President Xi Jinping and President Macron of France, was invited. The teaching team included Li Pengpeng and Zhang Jiaqi (guqin), Yang Kang (gu zheng), Cheng Yu (pipa), Huang Ziyang (erhu), Hu Ruijun (dizi and xiao), and Zhou Jingyu (sheng). Guqin master Li Xiangting served as the artistic advisor for the Youlan Qin Society and provided calligraphy for the festival.

One of the highlights of the festival was the original concert "Lute on the Silk Road," which featured seven types of lutes, including the Chinese pipa, Kazakh dombra, Turkish balaman, Iranian tar, and Syrian oud, recreating the music of the ancient Silk Road. This concert also attracted curators from the British Museum and the British Library, who invited the lute performers to participate in future exhibitions.

Chris Goodwin, President of the British Lute Society, praised the lute as the soul instrument of Silk Road cultural exchange. The main concert took place on 26 July at St. Sepulchre's Church in London.
Counsellors Li Liyan and Xia Yu from the Chinese Embassy in the UK attended the event.

The concert featured classics from both Chinese and Western music, including Youlan Qin Society's "Three Variations on the Parting at Yangguan Pass," Li Pengpeng's "Creak of the Oars" and "Drunken Ecstasy", Yang Kang's "Initial Heart" Huang Ziyang's "Czardas," Zhou Jingyu's "Spanish Gypsy Dance", and the British Chinese Music Society’s arrangements of "The Song of Burying Flowers" and "Butterfly Lovers." The programme also included Tan Dun's film score "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and James Batty's original five-string pipa and piano piece "Red Bell and Yellow Bell." The performance ended with enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Chris Nash, President of the China-Britain Understanding Association, remarked that the concert was a valuable opportunity for enhancing Sino-British cultural understanding, with music transcending the boundaries between East and West and showcasing cultural diversity.

Another event was the online and offline simultaneous salon "Qin and Tea in Harmony," hosted by tea art expert Hong Yiyuan, which paired music from various regions with different teas, offering participants an experience of both music and tea, and provided a platform for global exchange.

The closing concert, "Talent Showcase," primarily provided young Chinese music talents with an opportunity to perform. In the examinations and competitions, 8-year-old gu zheng performer Wang Jiaqi won second prize, 11-year-old British boy Li Yijun won first prize for his fluent Chinese and excellent erhu performance, and young pipa performers Zhao Luyang and Liu Wenfei won first and second prizes respectively. Cheng Yu stated that the London International Chinese Music Festival will continue in late August 2025, aiming to provide a platform for the exchange and development of Chinese and British music culture. 

【欧洲时报】为期一周的第二届伦敦国际中国音乐节于7月27日在伦敦大学亚非学院落幕。

这次音乐节为英国及欧洲的中乐爱好者提供了一个交流和学习的机会。基于2023年首届音乐节的成功举办，今年的活动范围扩展到包括伯明翰、剑桥、伦敦的五场音乐会、五天的国乐夏校、大师课、合奏课、雅集、工作坊、中英双认证考级和比赛，以及书法绘画等辅助课程。

2024伦敦国际中国音乐节由旅英琵琶古琴演奏家程玉博士策划，中国艺术UK、伦敦幽兰琴社和英国中乐团主办，伦敦大学亚非学院和中国民族管乐学会协办。该音乐节获得了英国国家艺术局的资助。古琴家李蓬蓬受邀出席，她曾为国家主席习近平和法国总统马克龙演奏古琴名曲《流水》。乐器课的教师团队包括李蓬蓬、张家麒（古琴），杨康（古筝），程玉（琵琶），黄子洋（二胡），胡瑞君（笛箫），周荆玉（笙）。古琴大师李祥霆担任幽兰琴社的艺术顾问，并为音乐节题写书法。

音乐节的亮点之一是原创音乐会“丝绸之路上的鲁特琴”，演奏了包括中国琵琶、哈萨克斯坦冬不拉、土耳其巴拉曼、伊朗塔尔和叙利亚乌德琴在内的七种鲁特琴，重现了古丝绸之路的音乐。这次音乐会还吸引了大英博物馆和大英图书馆的策展团队，他们邀请了这组鲁特琴演奏家在未来的展览中演出。英国鲁特琴协会主席克里斯·古德温（ChrisGoodwin）称赞鲁特琴为丝绸之路文化交流的灵魂乐器。

主场音乐会于7月26日在伦敦圣墓教堂举办。中国驻英大使馆文化处李立言参赞及夏雨参赞到场观看。音乐会展示了中西方音乐经典，包括幽兰琴社的《阳关三叠》，李蓬蓬演奏的《欸乃》《酒狂》，杨康的《初心》，黄子洋的《查尔达什》，周荆玉的《西班牙斗牛士》，以及英国中乐团改编的《葬花吟》和《梁祝》主题曲。还包括谭盾电影音乐《卧虎藏龙》以及詹姆斯·巴蒂（James Batty）的原创五弦琵琶和钢琴作品《红钟和黄钟》。演出结束后，观众报以热烈的掌声。

中英了解协会主席克里斯·纳什（Chris Nash）表示，这场音乐会是促进中英文化了解的良好机会，音乐超越了西方与东方的界限，展现了文化的多样性。

另一个项目是线上线下同步进行的雅集“琴茶同韵”，由茶艺专家洪羿媛主讲，配对不同地域的琴曲和茶叶，为参与者带来听琴和品茶的体验，并提供了一个全球交流的平台。

音乐节的收场音乐会“才华展示”主要为年轻的中乐人才提供展示机会。在考级和比赛中，8岁的古筝演奏者王嘉琪荣获二等奖，11岁的英国男孩李一俊凭借流利的中文和出色的二胡演奏获得一等奖，青年琵琶演奏者赵鲁阳和刘雯斐分别获得一等和二等奖。

程玉表示，伦敦国际中国音乐节将于2025年8月下旬继续举办，旨在为中英音乐文化的交流和发展提供平台。