On the evening of November 29th, the “Beijing Forum for Symphonic Music 2021” opened at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in the form of a video conference. The opening ceremony was broadcast live by various online media at home and abroad, including the classical music channel of the National Center for the Performing Arts, cctv.com, and the new media outlets of People’s Daily and Beijing Daily.
Hosted by the NCPA, this forum takes the theme of “Vision and Innovation for a Shared Future”. The Forum, based on the principle of being “international, open and forward-looking”, aims to build a platform for exchanges on development trends and cutting-edge topics in symphonic music to promote integrated development across different regions and sectors. More than 100 representatives from five continents, more than 20 countries and regions and 70 international art institutions gathered online to discuss “sustainable development of symphony” and “symphony orchestra and theater: building urban cultural landmarks” and jointly explore new possibilities for the future development of symphonic music.
Wang Ning, president of the NCPA, put forward several proposals in his opening speech: “First is to promote the renewal of symphonic music; Second is to enable the application of technology to symphonic music; Third is to explore new forms of international exchanges and cooperation”. Lv Jia, artistic director of music at the NCPA, reviewed his work experience during the pandemic: “Over the past two years, Covid-19 has posed severe challenges, but also enabled us to make changes. The NCPA has been working nonstop to provide artists with a safe and stable working environment, and by leveraging new technologies, we’ve made art available to households, bringing positive energy to numerous audiences.” Li Xincao, General Director of the China National Symphony Orchestra, believes that making the Chinese voice heard and promoting “created in China” are top priorities in our efforts to adapt symphonic music to the Chinese context: “Introducing the western symphonic music to China should not be about duplication, but about keeping in line with the Chinese reality, taking roots in the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation, making good use of the music language with Chinese characteristics, and accommodating the aesthetic taste of Chinese audiences. Only by combining the past with the present and integrating the East with the West can we truly realize creative transformation and innovative development, and follow our own path of symphony development.”
In his keynote speech, Valery Gergiev, a master conductor, extended best wishes to Chinese musicians: “We are having big hope that young talents from China will contribute so much in the next decades to the classical music world.” Franz Welser-Möst, a distinguished conductor from Cleveland Orchestra, emphasized the key role of talents, “to keep an orchestra on top level, of course it needs the day-in, day-out work. But even more important is recruiting new players, because that’s the biggest artistic investment we make into the future of the institution.”
On the second day of the Forum, conductors Antonio Pappano, Chen Zuohuang, pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, and representatives from Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Dresden Music Festival, Lucerne Festival, Philadelphia Orchestra, China Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music, National Ballet of China, among others, participated in the online communication.
(Reporter: Gao Qian)
