Gulangyu to stage piano festival

A pianist from Israel stages a special concert at the previous Gulangyu Piano Festival. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

The 2018 Gulangyu Piano Festival is set to take place on Gulangyu, a small island off Xiamen, Fujian province, from Oct 26 to 31.

Gulangyu Island, which was listed as a world cultural heritage site in 2017, is also called the Island of Pianos because more than 100 musical families once lived in the 2-square-kilometer area and it also houses a piano museum with more than 40 old pianos.

Five benefit concerts will be organized each night and two renowned pianists, Piotr Paleczny and Bruce Brubaker, will tutor local piano students during the festival.

As part of the event, the final of the Gulangyu Piano Competition will be held, with 24 young pianists from Russia, South Korea, and Japan vying for the championship.

The biennial piano festival has been organized by the management committee of Gulangyu Island since 2002 with the aim of promoting the island's music culture and exploiting its potential value.

Pianist Anne-Sophie (left) Mutter performs with world-renowned orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia to mark the 85th birthday of Krzysztof Penderecki (right), one of the most important contemporary composers, on the first day of the festival. [Photo/xmnn.cn]