Ye Cong's concert kick starts Chinese National Music Week

A concert, featuring conductor Ye Cong and young musicians of the Chinese national orchestra of the Central Conservatory of Music, was held at Xiamen, Fujian province, on March 21, which kicked off the second edition of Chinese National Music Week.

The repertoire featured not only works inspired by traditional Chinese culture but also modern and contemporary classics.

Six music pieces were staged, including Green: Song of the Wind, the first movement of the orchestral suite Seven Colors in Harmony by composer Zhang Zhao, which vividly depicts the culture of the Mongolian ethnic group, and Guo Feng, composed by Zhao Jiping, selected from the fifth movement of the composer's Fengya Song suite, drawing inspiration from Shijing (Book of Songs), an ancient Chinese collection of poetry from the 11th to 6th centuries BC.

The Central Conservatory of Music specially commissioned composer Luo Maishuo to create a new orchestral work titled Blooming in Four Seasons for this year's China National Music Week, which premiered at the opening concert.

From March 21 to 26, the music event brings seven concerts by 11 Chinese music schools, as well as seminars and forums revolving around the history and development of Chinese national music.