Mahler Chamber Orchestra plays Chinese folk song

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra performed a well-known Chinese folk song titled "Zou Xi Kou," or "Crossing the West Ferry," at a recent concert in Beijing.

The melody comes from leading Chinese composer Chen Qigang.

Founding member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Yannick Dondelinger said "We were finding the right balance of the sounds and the journey we wanted to portray, the journey here. And this version of Qigang's piece was the version that fitted, how should I say, fitted this evening's firework display best for us, and it's fantastic".

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra gives a concert in Beijing on Oct 25, 2019. [Photo provided to China Plus]

Meanwhile, the orchestra will also play pieces by Zhou Tian and Du Yun, both of whom are the third generation of Chinese-born composers now impacting American music.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra has given a total of three concerts this year at the Beijing Music Festival, which will be closing Monday night.