Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

STARTING tomorrow, a monthlong music festival is going to bring some of the world’s best concerts to Shenzhen audiences as the 2018 Belt & Road Shenzhen International Music Festival will officially begin with a grand opening concert tomorrow night.

Renowned musicians and orchestras from home and abroad will perform a total of 17 high-end concerts until the end of April. World-famous artists, including Mikhail Pletnev, Lin Cho-liang, Ye Xiaogang and Nikolai Demidenko among others, are coming to Shenzhen for the music carnival.

The festival, continuing on last year’s theme — Connect China and the World — is organized by the Chinese Musicians’ Association and the Shenzhen government. It is an answer to China’s Belt & Road Initiative in the sector of culture and music.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be the opening concert tomorrow night. Like last year, a special orchestra consisting of musicians from China as well as 15 other countries and regions will perform to kick off the music festival.

An orchestral piece named “Festival Overture” composed by Guan Xia, a renowned Chinese composer, will debut at the opening concert.

One of the pieces will be the theme song of the movie “Schindler’s List” composed by John Williams and “Zigeunerweisen” composed by Pablo de Sarasate.

These well-known pieces will be performed solo by Lin Cho-liang, a violinist born in Taiwan with albums that have won Gramophone Record of the Year, Grammy nominations and Penguin Guide Rosettes. Lin is one of the most-anticipated artists at the opening concert.

Renowned Argentine bandoneon player, Walter Rios, and French trumpeter, Luciene Renaudin Vary, will also play solos at the opening concert.

Argentinian Ambassador to China Diego Ramiro Guelar sent a gratitude letter yesterday to the organizing committee for inviting Rios, one of the best bandoneon players in Argentina, to join the festival. The ambassador also wished the festival a success.

Chinese musicians and artists, including baritone singer Wang Yunpeng from Shenzhen, Chinese folk song artist Lei Jia, and performing artist Pu Cunxin, will also grace the stage that night.

There will also be traditional Chinese music concerts, a symphony performed by the Russian Symphony Orchestra, piano solos delivered by Russian pianist Nikolai Demidenko, jazz performed by Cuban band Tiempo Libre and Iranian traditional folk music, among others in the coming month.

The concerts will be held in Shenzhen’s major theaters, while the tickets will be priced much lower than market-driven concerts, with the lowest price at 100 yuan (US$15.79) and the highest at 980 yuan.

This year’s festival remains an inclusive feature with multiple forms of music from home and abroad, including classical, traditional, jazz, symphony, solo, instrumental and more.