A CONCERT titled “Chinese Memories” was held Friday evening in the western Belgian city of Ghent to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

All musical pieces, composed by Belgian Johan Famaey, were performed in Chinese by Belgian artists. The elegant music blending Chinese and Western styles led the audience to appreciate the aesthetics inspired by ancient Chinese poetry.

“This concert is my ode to China,” said Famaey, who had lived in Qing-dao, Shandong Province in East China from 2005 to 2009.

“Ancient Chinese people were very romantic, as reflected in their poetry; Baroque music also represented a period of romanticism, so I had this idea of bringing things together,” he said.

“The music is entirely original, though I’ve paid tribute to important composers of the past such as Bach, Schubert and Puccini,” he explained.

The concert was led by conductor Geert Baetens and featured Famaey himself as a soloist on yangqin, a traditional Chinese instrument, backed by an orchestra and children’s choir.

(Xinhua)

=