East Meets West concert boosts cultural harmony

East Meets West, a concert featuring compositions and musicians from China and the United Kingdom, was held in London on Thursday, attracting around 800 people, including China's Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang and his wife Hua Mei.

The Torch Festival, a vibrant, rousing piece depicting the traditional fire festival of ethnic groups in China's Yunnan province, opened the concert in Cadogan Hall, one of the most notable venues in central London.

Qian Junping, a fast-rising Chinese conductor, led the performance with musical works from 19th century English composer Edward Elgar's Cockaigne Overture, which presents various aspects of turn-of-the-century London, to 'Internet Symphony' Eroica by Tan Dun, a leading figure of contemporary classical music.

The concert was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with two award-winning Chinese soloists — classical guitarist Yang Xuefei and violinist Ning Feng.

"It is a date between Chinese culture and British culture, and I hope my performance can add more understanding of China to the Western audience," said Yang during an interview with the Nouvelles d'Europe newspaper before the concert.

Gramophone, a leading reviewer of classical music, said about the East Meets West concert: "Music can facilitate understanding between cultures like nothing else — we just have to listen, as a concert in London sets out to prove."

The superb performance of Yang's Guitar Concerto: A Lovely Rose, a traditional Xinjiang folk song rearranged for guitar and orchestra, in the first half, and Ning's Violin Concerto No 1, composed by Zhao Jiping, in the second half, were the highlights of the concert.

Each piece received lasting applause from the audience, and an encore of Salut d'Amour, also by Elgar, drew the musical night to an end.

After the concert, the ambassador thanked the musicians for their hard work that promotes cultural exchanges. He also encouraged institutions to forge more partnerships between the two countries.

As part of a cultural exchange initiative titled "Image China", the concert was produced by the China Arts and Entertainment Group with the aim of introducing traditional and contemporary Chinese performing arts to audiences. It has presented more than 600 performances around the world since 2009.

Video by Han Jing.