A pure Tango concert helps in China's cultural heritage protection efforts

A poster for a Tango concert scheduled for Monday evening, October 14, 2019 [Photo provided to China Plus]

Music fans in Beijing will be treated to a concert under the stars at the city's Jingshan Park. The park will play host to the Tango Concert - a collaborative effort between a French and Chinese artists - this evening, on Oct 14th.

Cong Yipeng(丛一蓬), director of the Jingshan Park, believes this western-style concert is a new and innovative initiative to promote the protection of this traditional Chinese park.

"A combination of the western music with a very typical Chinese garden is a win-win strategy. It is the first-ever large show since the Shouhuang Palace was opened to the public in late 2018 following a four-year-long renovation," said Cong.

Shouhuang Palace was first built in 1749 in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. It was the last architectural complex on the city's central axis to open to the public. The city always wanted to include it in the 14 heritage spots on the city's central axis to become a world-level cultural heritage site.

The concert was jointly performed by three celebrated performers, namely French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Chinese conductor Huang Yi and the China Philharmonic Orchestra.

One of the highlights is the world premiere of "Tango Manos Piano Concerto", which comes from Los Angeles-based composer Aaron Zigman, an award-winning film and TV composer with over 60 film scores to his credit, including music for The Notebook, Bridge to Terabithia, and Sex and the City.

"So grateful to be part of this event! And maestro Yu (founder of the Beijing Music Festival) is an unbelievable conductor. Yesterday I was so amazed watching him do his magic. So thank you for having me," said Zigman in a press briefing held recently in Beijing.

In addition to "Tango Manos Piano Concerto", a work specially commissioned for the ongoing Beijing Music Festival, local audiences will also have the opportunity to appreciate two other significant works; "The Last Sacrifice" by Zhou Long and a version of Ye Xiaogang's "The Song of Farewell".