Contemporary music feast in store for fans

Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra will perform works by some of the most creative minds in contemporary Chinese music at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on Wednesday as part of the ongoing Beijing Music Festival.

Commissioned by Hangzhou Philharmonic, the composers' works combine veneration for traditional forms with techniques gleaned from Western music.

Seven Episodes of West Lake, an expansive symphony composed by Ye Xiaogang, "sings the beauty of Hangzhou", in Ye's words, through lyrics borrowed from poems written by great poets living in ancient Hangzhou, including Bai Juyi from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and Su Shi of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).