On the evening of May 17, the first performance of the 2024 Beijing Great Wall Concert kicked off at the Wangjing Cultural Square of the Badaling Great Wall in Yanqing. As an important event of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia and the opening of the Sino-Russian Year of Culture, this concert by Chinese and Russian artists staged a "Night of Passion for Masters".
The line-up of this concert is full of stars. The famous soprano Yin Xiumei joined forces with Ildar Abdrazakov, a Russian meritorious artist and one of the most popular bass singers in the world of opera, and Denis Matsuyev, a master of the Russian piano school, and Luo Chaowen, a young Chinese violinist. Yuri Bashmet, who is the conductor of this concert, is even more world-renowned, bringing his "pro-soldier" - the Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, which he formed in 2012 to perform in Beijing.
Chinese and Russian classics staged a musical dialogue on the same stage
At 19:30 that night, the sunset had just set over the Badaling Great Wall, and the stage built on the Wangjing Cultural Square was lit up brilliantly. The concert began with a rhythmic polonaise, an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's opera Yepgeny Onegin, which opened the evening with a dialogue between Chinese and Russian music.
The repertoire of this concert is a selection of classics, which integrates the musical culture of China and Russia. The young violinist Luo Chaowen performed Tchaikovsky's "Melody" and also brought "The River Flows", which is known as the "Oriental Serenade". After playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, excerpts from the classic Chinese piano concerto "Yellow River" poured out from his fingertips. Hearing the familiar melody, the audience applauded warmly, and the applause of the audience made the performers on the stage feel deeply excited, and also integrated their passion into the classic Chinese melody.
"I like China very much, and I also like Chinese culture and music very much, and we have always had very close cultural exchanges with China." Matsuyev said that there are many Chinese musicians in Moscow, and there are also many young Chinese people who go to Russia to study classical music, and he often collaborates with them and talks about music, "Music can make a very useful contribution to the exchange between the two countries, and this time in Beijing, I and Conductor Bashmet both believe that the young artists of the two countries can carry out closer exchanges in the future, such as jointly establishing a symphony orchestra to exchange and promote each other." ”
Artists perform "Evening on the outskirts of Moscow"
In addition to the skilled performers, the singers who will sing on stage in this concert are equally exciting. As soon as the famous Russian bass singer and Russian meritorious artist Ildar Abdrazakov took the stage, the audience burst into applause and cheers, and he sang excerpts from "Satko" "Song of the Merchant of Valan" and arias from the opera "Aleko", presenting the unique charm of Russian opera to the audience.
Yin Xiumei's appearance brought the concert to a climax. "Song of the Yangtze River" and "I Love You, Snow in Saibei", two classic old songs, show the deep love and affection of the Chinese children for the motherland through her mellow and transparent voice, which instantly resonated with the audience, and the audience couldn't help but sing together.
Live performances where top artists come together are sure to be exciting. The final piece of the concert was "Evening on the outskirts of Moscow" by Yin Xiumei and Abdrazhakov, one of them singing Chinese and the other in Russian, as if engaged in an affectionate dialogue. After the first chorus, the orchestra played an interlude melody, and Bashmet turned from the podium to the piano and whispered in Matsuev's ear. No one knew what Bashmet said, but at the end of the song, Bashmet came to Matsuev from the podium, stretched out his hand to play the melody on the piano, and had a "four-handed play" with Matsuyev. The audience screamed excitedly, and with the cooperation of the two masters, a jazz-style piece of music was improvised, and Yin Xiumei and Abdrazakov danced to the music in front of the stage, and the atmosphere was intoxicating.
"It's a great pleasure and privilege to work with world-class artists from Russia today, it's a great feeling." After the performance, Yin Xiumei was still immersed in the warm atmosphere of the scene, "I grew up listening to Russian songs, China and Russia are neighbors, the distance is very close, not to mention that music has no borders, once the beautiful melody is accepted by everyone, it will definitely make the friendship between the two peoples closer!" ”
It is reported that the concert was jointly sponsored by the China International Culture Communication Center and Beijing Yonglian Guangye Culture Co., Ltd., co-organized by the People's Government of Yanqing District, Beijing, and the Healthy Lifestyle Council of the Sino-Russian Friendship, Peace and Development Committee. The 2024 Beijing Great Wall Concert will hold a total of 4 performances, and the remaining 3 will be staged on May 18, 25 and 26. Among them, the two performances on May 18 and May 25 will be broadcast live on Weibo and Migu platforms.