Ninth Yangtze River Piano Music Festival opens
2023-09-22 18:09:00
By Yan Wanqin, Yichang International Communication Studio
The 9th Yangtze River Piano Music Festival opened with a concert at Yichang Theater on Thursday.
Conducted by Shi Shucheng, pianist Yuan Jie and the Hubei Symphony Orchestra performed Western and Chinese classical pieces including Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1, the first piece of classical music to sell a million records, and the Yellow River piano concerto, based on the Yellow River Cantata by composer Xian Xinghai.
The 9th Yangtze River Piano Music Festival opened with a concert at Yichang Theater on Thursday.
Conducted by Shi Shucheng, pianist Yuan Jie and the Hubei Symphony Orchestra performed Western and Chinese classical pieces including Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1, the first piece of classical music to sell a million records, and the Yellow River piano concerto, based on the Yellow River Cantata by composer Xian Xinghai.
Yuan has performed in Yichang several times and seen the festival expand.
"It’s gratifying to see more and more people are coming," he said.
For the opening concert, Yuan played a Yangtze River piano, created by Parsons Music Group.
In 2009, the Yangtze River Piano became the first registered piano trademark to use Chinese characters: 长江 (cháng jiāng). Designed and produced in Yichang, it was China's first piano brand with independent intellectual property rights.
In June 2019, the Yangtze River Piano was used in the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the first time a Chinese piano had been used in the competition’s 61-year history.
"The Yellow River Piano Concerto embodies the Chinese people's spirit of self-improvement. It is closely tied to the future of China's piano manufacturing industry. I was proud to play the concerto on this piano," said Yuan.
Shi, who has performed at the festival since it was launched, is famed for the Yellow River Piano Concerto, his masterpiece.
"To hear the Yellow River Piano Concerto played on the banks of the Yangtze River with a piano made in Yichang was wonderful," Shi said.
With more than 20 activities such as piano concerts, piano on campus and new product launches, the festival will run through September 27.
Yichang was dubbed "City of Pianos" by the Chinese Musicians Association in 2014.
Each year the city produces 70,000 upright and grand pianos. Pianos made in Yichang are sold to more than 40 countries and regions around the world. One out of every seven new pianos in the world is made in Yichang.
To cultivate the Yichang public's love for piano, the city has held the Yangtze River Piano Music Festival every year since 2011, inviting hundreds of Chinese and foreign musicians to perform on stage, and thousands of well-known musicians to attend.
