STORY: Piano concerto debuts to prompt China-ASEAN communication
DATELINE: July 23, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:07
LOCATION: SHIJIAZHUANG, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of the world-premiere concert of piano concerto
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): TYMUR MELNYK, Austrian violinist
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XIA XIAOTANG, Principal conductor of China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO)
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MOIN UL HAQUE, Pakistani Ambassador to China
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CLAUDIA YANG, Chief executive of Silk Road International Arts Center
 
STORYLINE:
 
The world premiere concert of the piano concerto "The Legend of Maritime Silk Road" was held in Langfang City, north China's Hebei Province on Saturday night.
   
The piano concerto consists of five movements, including famous folk songs from China and ten ASEAN countries namely Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): TYMUR MELNYK, Austrian violinist
"I think it's a wonderful approach to open people's hearts to classical music, especially when it's contemporary music that has folk elements to it that people can recognize."
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XIA XIAOTANG, Principal conductor of China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO)
"The ASEAN countries are our close neighbors. Except for the economic and trade exchanges, it's necessary to enhance the communication of cultures and arts. As music is a global language, it can help us to understand and interact with each other more deeply."
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MOIN UL HAQUE, Pakistani Ambassador to China
"We really enjoyed this evening and I'm very privileged to be part of this important function, especially bringing songs and music and folk songs from many of the ASEAN countries. I think the music brings people together. It connects people together. It transcends both boundaries."
 
This year marks the 10th anniversary of both the Belt and Road Initiative and the vision of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
 
Claudia Yang, the co-composer of the piano concerto said that it's a proper time to prompt cultural communication between China and the ASEAN countries.
 
SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CLAUDIA YANG, Chief executive of Silk Road International Arts Center
"It is a very important year this year, because we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. So not just music, but also I would like to introduce the folk art, visual arts, and also food, very important, and also maybe education, to introduce 10 countries of ASEAN to Chinese people."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shijiazhuang, China.
(XHTV)