What's new

Reveling in Ravel

National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire from France showcased its unique interpretation of Bizet, Debussy and Ravel at the Forbidden City Concert Hall last weekend.

Shanghai-born pianist Song Siheng shined during his performance of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, which followed Bizet's L'Arlesienne, and Debussy's La Mer.

Under the baton of the renowned French conductor Alain Lombard, the orchestra played Chinese composer Chen Yi's Duo Ye and collaborated with 27-year-old pianist Song.

Beijing is one of the legs of the China tour of National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire. They performed in Qingdao on Friday night and will go to Hong Kong today.

For art sake

While the booming Chinese art market attracts worldwide attention, art critics and the academic community are trying to get their voices heard.

An art forum was held last week at the Wall Art Museum in Beijing, wrapping up the 2007 Contemporary Chinese Art Document Exhibition.

Entitled Dreams and Conflicts, the two-day forum attracted more than 100 young and emerging artists, art historians, and art journalists from across the country.

The forum addressed such issues as the future direction of Chinese vanguard art, the role of art media and art critics in the red-hot market, and interaction between art, media and social reality in fast-changing China, according to key organizer Zhu Xiaojun.

Call to whistle

The China Whistle Association was founded recently in Beijing, with more than 100 whistlers from all over China joining in.

China has a long tradition of musical whistling that dates back to the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280), yet the art of whistling has largely been unrecognized as formal music .

"We hope to organize a series of activities to promote musical whistling in China and make it a serious art form," says Yu Yin, chairperson of the executive council of the China Whistle Association.

One of the first activities of the association is the "Whistling for the Olympics" International Whistling Competition, which will be held later this year.

Artists from the world

The 2008 China International Gallery Exposition got underway on Friday at the China World Trade Center in downtown Beijing.

"The expo will give local art lovers a rare chance to enter more than 80 art galleries from over 30 countries and regions and savor works of art of various styles and media," says Wang Yihan, an organizer of the annual event. In two huge exhibition halls covering over 13,000 sqm, visitors will see the latest works by international artists. The genres on display include oil painting, sculpture, photography, video, mixed media, installation, lithographs, serigraphs, and prints and digital art. Apart from exhibitions, there will also be charity auctions, lectures on art investment and a forum on the Chinese art market, say organizers.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/29/2008 page18)