A 12-hour special event of the 19th China Shanghai International Arts Festival’s (CSIAF) Art Space section was held at Shanghai Urban Lawn Music Plaza on October 29. Compared with last year, the highlight of this year’s event was a closer interaction between indoor and outdoor performances and a stronger experience for audiences. Moreover, new and old generations of artists performed together on stage to reflect the inheritance of art.

As one of the core sections of CSIAF as well as the extension of its tenet of “A Festival of Arts, A Gala for All,” Art Space continued to depict the concept of “A Gathering of Excellent Performances, Much Benefit for All” and deliver the most fabulous artist works from all over the world, so as to provide the audience easy accesses to appreciate the charm of elegant arts in their neighborhoods.

As a key unit of the Art Space series of performances, a 12-hour special event jointly organized by CSIAF and Huangpu District People’s Government aimed to get closer to life and the public, appeal to the more (and the less) cultured people and follow the principle of artistic diversity, bringing elegant art back into daily life and making the century-old world heritage melt into the public cultural life.

To commemorate the 190th anniversary of the death of Beethoven, the festival organizer specially planned this year’s Ode-themed event, which demonstrated a dialogue between the Western music master and Chinese romance, a collision of Western classical music and Chinese traditional culture, and the perfect fusion of Western romantic classics and Chinese modern fashion.

To follow the principle of appealing to both refined and popular tastes and artistic diversity, the event invited Lorenzo Naccarato Trio, Listening to China (a concert for symphonic compositions with elements of Chinese traditional music), Swing Beethoven, Quintessence Saxophone Quintet, Ju Percussion Group and Italian Film Symphony Orchestra.

In the south hall of Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall, Chinese traditional classical music was presented indoors to allow audiences to taste the changeable and peculiar power of music. Flautist Jin Kai, percussionist Wang Yinrui and pipa player Yu Bing brought the audience into an ocean of ancient Chinese music.

In the main hall, Norwegian Wood presented by Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra brought Edvard Grieg’s classic works of unique national music style. During the International Violin Competition Winners’ Solo Concerts, 10 young violinists active in today’s international music circle performed Beethoven’s 10 sonatas for violin and piano.

This year’s event also set up a “sleepwalking Beethoven” virtual reality experience area. Accompanied with Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, audience could enter Beethoven’s beautiful dream and feel multidimensional music image fantastic space.

As a carnival with strong interaction, the 12- hour special event is becoming an internationally renowned outdoor art experience brand.

Reprinted from Global Times

By duqiongfang@globaltimes.com.cn