On the evening of April 25, the curtain opened for the China-Russia Youth Concert themed “Youth Music for Shared Future” at the brightly-lit Music Hall of the China Conservatory of Music (CC Music). It was a coming together of national memories and modern musical instruments and also an amazing dialogue between young Chinese and Russian musicians. The young artists from the two countries together presented an audiovisual feast blending Chinese and Russian music.
The concert is part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia and the 2024–2025 China-Russia Years of Culture. With the guidance of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the concert was co-hosted by the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (BPAFFC), the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing, and CC Music and organized by the Art Practice Center of CC Music. A total of 500 people were present at the concert, including diplomats from the Russian Embassy in China, representatives of Russian students studying in China, representatives of the BPAFFC, CC Music teachers and students, and people from other sectors of society.
Wang Xudong, Secretary of the Party Committee of CC Music, noted that music is an important means of expression for human civilization, and it transcends national boundaries, serving as an important bridge promoting communication between the peoples of China and Russia. Taking the opportunity of the China-Russia Years of Culture, the Chinese and Russian sides should strengthen cultural and artistic exchanges, diversify the content and forms, and further promote interaction between Chinese and Russian music to advance the development of music worldwide.
Chernyshev Maksim, Cultural Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in China, said that within the framework of the China-Russia Years of Culture, the two countries will hold a diverse range of activities in 51 Chinese cities and 38 Russian cities, which have a special relevance as the two celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. He went on to say that the fantastic performances by young musicians embody the friendship between Russian and Chinese artists.
Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of the BPAFFC, remarked that the China-Russia Youth Concert is a practical action taken by the BPAFFC in response to the China-Russia Years of Culture, with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The BPAFFC is willing to be a bridge facilitating people-to-people exchanges and artistic exchanges between China and Russia and do its part in promoting mutual learning between Chinese and Russian cultures and the longstanding friendship between the two peoples.
At the concert, young Chinese and Russian artists performed 14 classical pieces structured into three movements, namely, “Musical Notes of National Memory,” “Dialogue of Musical Instruments,” and “Eternal China-Russia Friendship.”
Chinese musicians Ji Tian, Xiang Anyi, Li Lin, and Zhao Yunhong sang folk songs with Shangxi, Beijing, or Kazakh elements, including “Pink Peach Blossoms, White Apricot Flowers,” “Mayila Variations,” “Shichahai, a Love Ballad for the Soul,” and “Bolero.” Russian musicians Yegor Danilkin and Yevgeni Gamelin Yevgeny performed classical Russian songs “Конь” (Horse) and “Dorogoi Dlinnoiu” (By the Long Road). The six Chinese and Russian folk songs struck a chord with the audiences, just like the musical notes engraved in the mind of the two nations.
In the “Dialogue of Musical Instruments” movement, Russian musicians Vitalii Petrov, Andrey Galitskiy, Alexandra Dementieva, and Anton Starikov presented piano, guitar, violin, and domra performances. Chinese artists Li Yuhe, Feng Yao, and Yang Tingting made violin and cello ensemble and pipa concerto performances of classical pieces “The Nutcracker” and “Moscow Nights.” This movement featured a melodic and powerful piano solo, a full and rich violin and cello ensemble, passionate and lyrical violin and guitar pieces, and most notably, a beautiful contrast between the pipa, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, and the domra, a Russian folk string instrument.
One of the biggest highlights of this concert is that Chinese and Russian musicians together performed three famous songs in China and Russia – “The Moon Represents My Heart,” “Kalinka,” and “You and Me,” bringing the concert to a climax. When the singing of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 theme song “You and Me” rose, the audience applauded enthusiastically. Despite the accent of the Russian artists when singing in Chinese, the performance symbolized the common wishes of the two peoples for long-lasting China-Russia friendship.
At the end of the performance, Yuan Mindao, Vice President of the CPAFFC, Wang Yanxia, Vice President of the BPAFFC, and Huang Hu, Vice President of CC Music, presented commemorative certificates to young Russian musicians. Chernyshev Maksim, Cultural Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in China, and Tatiana Borisovna Urzhumtseva, Director of the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing, accorded commemorative certificates to Chinese musicians.
The concert concluded with the timeless Russian song “Moscow Nights.” The China-Russia Youth Concert was not only a big show of art but also a grand event of cultural exchanges. Chinese and Russian musicians together expressed, in the form of music, their expectations for eternal China-Russia friendship.
