Bard College Conservatory of Music Presents

China and Beethoven

The US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year with eight days of online musical events in our 3rd annual China Now Music Festival, China and Beethoven. 

Celebratory events for “Beethoven 250” have been planned all around the world, and nowhere more so than in China, where Beethoven enjoys great popularity among audiences of all ages. When theaters, concert halls, and orchestras found themselves unexpectedly shuttered for much of the year, many celebrations were put on hold or reimagined. As China begins to reopen, Beethoven once again takes center stage. 

China and Beethoven will provide a window into celebrations happening in China today, as well as exploring Beethoven’s legacy as a heroic figure during the changing politics of the 20th century, along with China’s oscillating affiliation with Western classical music.

All events are FREE online, and open to the public with event registration. To learn more and to register visit barduschinamusic.org/china-and-beethoven.

Festival Event Schedule

December 11, 7:30pm
China’s Sage of Music 
Concert/Lecture
The festival’s opening event traces the story of Beethoven’s ascent into the cultural imagination of China through discussions with music scholars and musical interludes from the US and China. Hosted by Jindong Cai, conductor, professor of Music and Arts at Bard College, and director of the US-China Music Institute. 

December 12, 8pm
Beethoven in China 
Webinar in Chinese (Zoom)
China Institute’s Renwen Society hosts Jindong Cai in a webinar discussion in Chinese of his book Beethoven in China: How the Great Composer Became an Icon in the People’s Republic.

December 13, 7:30pm
Beethoven Made in China
Concert/Lecture
Experience an exciting and imaginative evening of musical interpretations of Beethoven with Chinese accents, presented by world-renowned artists including bass-baritone Shenyang, pipa virtuoso Wu Man, composer/conductor Tan Dun, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra Now, and musicians of the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music.
Hosted by Shenyang and Jindong Cai. 

December 14, 7:30pm
Beethoven Is Us
Producer’s Expo
Host Jindong Cai and guests will offer a peek into the Chinese market for all things Beethoven, including a musical based on Beethoven’s life, a play describing how his music became known in China, and an “immersive multimedia Beethoven experience” exhibition in Shanghai.   

December 15, 7:30pm
Shanghai Symphony: Night of Beethoven
Concert
Celebrate Beethoven’s birthday with the illustrious Shanghai Symphony, featuring a selection of recent performances of some of Beethoven’s most iconic symphonic and chamber works, specially selected for the China Now Music Festival.

December 16, 7:30pm
Beethoven in Beijing: an American Orchestra’s Journey
Private Film Screening
Get early access to the new documentary Beethoven in Beijing, which follows the Philadelphia Orchestra on their first historic trip to China in 1973 and chronicles the opening of China to Western classical music since the end of the Cultural Revolution. 

December 17, 8pm
Building Bridges through Music: Beethoven in Beijing
Roundtable Discussion (Zoom)
Hosted by Asia Society and moderated by author Sheila Melvin, this discussion with the filmmakers of the documentary Beethoven in Beijing plus special guests will look at the future of culture and diplomacy through classical music.

December 18, 7:30pm
Egmont in China
Orchestra Concert 
The 2020 China Now Music Festival closes with a landmark performance of Beethoven’s complete Egmont, his musical setting of the 1787 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in a new production by the China NCPA Orchestra in Beijing. Featuring narration in Mandarin, the concert was recorded live at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on November 12, 2020.

Featured Artists and Speakers

• Leon Botstein, president, Bard College
• Tan Dun, dean, Bard College Conservatory of Music
• Jindong Cai, artistic director, China Now Music Festival; director, US-China Music Institute
• Shenyang, bass-baritone
• Wu Man, pipa
• The Orchestra Now
• China NCPA Orchestra
• Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
• Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra

And more! 

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For more information, call 845-758-6822,
or visit https://www.barduschinamusic.org/china-and-beethoven.