Musicians to record hundreds of Western classics

Violinist Xie Haoming and pianist Huang Mengmeng perform at the "My Concert Hall" project at the National Center for the Performing Arts. [Photo by Chen Xi/For China Daily]

Chopin's Nocturne in C Minor, Puccini's Un Bel Di and Beethoven's Symphony No 9 (Choral) are part of a repertory of Western classical music recommended to Chinese college students by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education.

Some of the most famous Chinese musicians like violinist Xue Wei and soprano Zhang Liping performed works from this repertory of "My Concert Hall - Appreciation of Western Classical Music" project on Wednesday at the National Center for the Performing Arts, a showcase for the first phase of the project.

"Music is one of the most effective ways of aesthetic education for young people, because it is an art of emotion that can enrich young people's inner world," says Wang Cizhao, president of the Central Conservatory of Music and artistic director of the project, at the concert. "At the same time, music is also a special form of thinking that can inspire people's imagination and creativity."

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Initiated in 2011 by the NCPA and the ministries of culture and education, the "My Concert Hall" project has listed 675 works of classical music for the art education of college students, as suggested by an experts' committee of 29 renowned musicians that includes conductor Chen Zuohuang, pianist Bao Huiqiao and vocalist Guo Shuzhen.