On the last night of 2021, the Concert Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts was full of flowers, and the golden and red lights reflected the big characters of "New Year's Concert" hanging in the middle of the stage, adding to the festive atmosphere of retiring the old and welcoming the new.
Just after 19:30, Lu Jia, music and artistic director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, stepped onto the stage to take charge of the Orchestra and Choir of the Grand Theatre, kicking off the concert with an exciting "Ode to the Red Flag", which is also the opening song of the Beijing New Year Concert in the past 14 years. Subsequently, 10 famous Chinese musicians took turns on the stage: the third movement of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major performed by violinist Huang Bin was full of vitality; "Bloom" brought by pipa master Zhao Cong, and the flute master Zhang Weiliang played "Little Cow Herding" adapted from Hebei folk songs to show a thriving scene with national music; the "Golden Snake Crazy Dance" performed by organist Shen Fanxiu, the "Love Detective Night Reading" by the commentator performance artist Gao Bowen was full of musical whimsy; and a passage sung by baritone singer Yuan Chenye" Make way for the busy people; Song Yuanming, Niu Shasha, Wang Chong, Guan Zhijing, four singers, and the orchestra and choir cooperated with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" excerpt brilliant and magnificent, pushing the atmosphere of the whole audience to a new peak...
At 23:00, conductor Zhang Yi and the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China took over the "baton" of the cross-Chinese New Year's Eve, and they joined hands with young guzheng player Wang Yi and young accordionist Xu Qing to bring the "New Year Concert to Welcome bells". "Miss Diana" overture, "Comedians" suite, "Yunnan Folk Songs" ... In each piece of music, the pace of 2021 is gradually drifting away. When the final note of the Yunnan folk song "A Fine Jumping Moon" was about to fall, Zhang Yi led the audience to read the countdown to the seconds: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" "In the first second of 2022, the New Year's bell rang on time at the back of the stage, and cheers and applause instantly swept through the concert hall.
Last night, the New Year's Eve sound music was also not absent from other theaters in Beijing. In the Zhongshan Park Music Hall on the north side of Chang'an Avenue, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra played classic melodies such as Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube" and Rossini's "William Retreat" overture; in the Poly Theater, the China Philharmonic Orchestra held hands with the National Ballet of China for the first time at the New Year's Concert, and music and dance brought a richer artistic New Year's Eve experience... In the following New Year's Day holiday, a number of New Year's concerts will be staged at landmark performance venues such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Zhongshan Park Music Hall, and Beizhan Theater.
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Gao Qian
Edited by Lu Yanxia
Process Editor Liu Weili