11 concerts featuring works by 51 Chinese and foreign composers, and the Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival is about to kick off
From September 19th to 25th, 2023, the Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival will bring 11 contemporary music concerts, 5 lectures and master classes, and 2 forums. While introducing the latest music achievements from around the world, it will also set a stage for Chinese music to go global. At the music festival, the "Baichuan Award" international composition competition will be held, and a total of 114 original works from 19 countries and regions will be received in this competition. In addition, the National Music School Composition Workshop and the Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang Exhibition will also be held.
Liao Changyong, Dean of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Art Director of the Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival, said, "The Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival will uphold the purpose of 'Shanghai, the World, Contemporary, and Future', showcase the excellent works of contemporary composers at home and abroad, promote international music and cultural exchanges, launch original music works with national, contemporary, cutting-edge, and exploratory characteristics, and create a high-end platform for young musicians to showcase their talents."
Liao Changyong, Dean of Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Art Director of Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival
Three internationally influential composers Magnus Lindbergh, Chen Qigang, and Xu Shuya will serve as resident composers for this year's Contemporary Music Festival. At the opening ceremony concert on September 19th, their representative orchestral works "Serenade", "Time Lost", and "Nirvana" will also be presented. In addition, the three composers will also hold special lectures to share their creative ideas and engage in dialogue with young students.
The one week music festival will bring 11 high-quality contemporary works concerts, including three orchestral works concerts, one symphonic vocal works concert, one ethnic orchestral works concert, and six chamber music works concerts.
These concerts will present the works of 51 contemporary composers, including Finnish composer Magnus Lindbergh, Korean composer Chen Yinshu, Japanese composer Junfu Hosokawa, French composer Tristan Mikhai, New Zealand composer Glenda Kim, Russian composer Alexander Radvilovich, as well as Chinese composers Zhao Jiping, Ye Xiaogang, Chen Qigang, Xu Shuya, Xu Mengdong, He Xuntian, Zhang Qianyi, Qin Wenchen, and others.
Three resident composers
In addition, the Classic Orchestra Concert will feature the classic work "Light and Gravity" by the late Finnish female composer Kaya Saliajo to express her commemoration and tribute.
Composer Chen Qigang, who has not appeared for a long time due to illness, will introduce his new book "Shared Sorrow and Joy - Chen Qigang's Self narration" at the symposium, sharing his artistic life and the composer's emotional journey. Tristan Mikhai, a French composer and co-founder of spectrum music, and Alexander Radvilovich, a Russian composer and professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, will hold a master class to share their creative techniques and concepts.
The Baichuan Award International Composition Competition will also be held during the music festival. Out of 114 works from around the world, 10 will stand out and be presented at the final concert by the Earth Song Chamber Symphony Orchestra, commanded by Gao Jian, competing for the final award. This year's "Hundred Rivers Awards" will be judged by composer Ye Xiaogang as the chairman of the judging committee, and seven domestic and foreign composers including Tristan Mikhai, Magnus Lindbergh, Alexander Radvilovich, Jin Ping, Xu Shuya, and Xu Mengdong will serve as the final judges. In addition, the final concert and summit forum form a collision of diverse contemporary music creation ideas through the coordinated development of creation, performance, commentary, and theoretical research.
The Baichuan Award International Composition Competition
This music festival will also upgrade the "Shangyin Composition Workshop" to the "National Conservatory of Music Composition Workshop", presenting the works of 12 undergraduate composition students from 11 domestic music schools, including Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, Wuhan Conservatory of Music, Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Shenyang Conservatory of Music, Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Xi'an Conservatory of Music, and Harbin Conservatory of Music.
In addition, the music festival also invited the Xinjiang Art Theatre Muqam Art Troupe to hold special lectures and performance concerts on Chinese Uyghur Muqam art. In 2005, China's Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang was selected into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This Muqam from the foot of Tianshan Mountain will lead you to experience the individuality and differences of music and art among different cultural groups on the land of China.
