Rare peek into lives of musicians

People's Music Publishing House has released a 15-part documentary Century Symphony: Pioneers of Chinese Symphony to introduce 15 established symphony musicians.

A project of China Symphony Development Foundation, it features such well-known conductors as Li Delun (1917-2001), former director of China National Symphony Orchestra who collaborated with the late American violinist Isaac Stern (1920-2001) in 1979. It was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary From Mao to Mozart.

Directed by Liu Peng, each episode not only introduces the artist's music but also tells the stories behind the scores through interviews with the musician or their colleagues and relatives. The film took three years to complete and is considered to have high artistic, academic and historical value.