Music festival features new works from around the world

Contemporary compositions by 80 national and international composers will be presented during the 2024 Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music from November 18 to 24.

Launched in 2008 as Shanghai New Music Week, it changed its name in 2022, maintaining its purpose of popularizing contemporary music and fostering communication between Chinese artists and their foreign counterparts.

While classical music remains a foundation of the music market and education, new music, especially contemporary music created after the 1950s, represents today and even speaks for the future.

Zhou Xianglin, dean of the conservatory's composition department, said there will be nine concerts at this year's festival featuring original works.

Participants will include the Ensemble L'ltinéraire from France and the Youth, this year's festival has invited a youth morin khuur orchestra from Inner Mongolia for a "Greeting from the Grasslands" concert.

"We invited a music troupe from Xinjiang Autonomous Region last year, and now it's turn for music from Inner Mongolia," said Zhou.

"The performers are bringing with them the local intangible cultural heritage music, which urban people rarely have the opportunity to listen to so closely," he said.

November 18's opening concert will be presented by the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Zhang Guoyong at Shangyin Opera House.

The Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, Wuxi Chinese Orchestra and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra will all perform during the festival.

The festival will also feature lectures and master classes by international and domestic composers.

Music forums and workshops will be open to composition students from 11 music academies around the country.

Those interested can follow Shanghai Academy of Music's WeChat account "shcm1927" for more information and make appointments for the free lectures.