Source: European Times (Europe-China News), 5 September 2025
https://www.oushinet.com/static/content/ouzhong/ouzhongnews/2025-09-05/1413466691534466735.html
Reported by Tian’ai Lu, European Times (Intern Reporter)
The 3rd London International Chinese Music Festival concluded at SOAS, University of London on 30 August 2025. Over a week of concerts, competitions, and cultural activities, the festival showcased the beauty of Chinese traditional music and cross-cultural innovation — from guqin, pipa and Kunqu opera to contemporary collaborations with Western instruments — offering London audiences a rare artistic feast and a platform for cultural exchange.
The week-long 3rd London International Chinese Music Festival concluded on 30 August 2025 at SOAS, University of London. The festival highlighted both traditional Chinese music and cross-cultural collaboration, offering audiences in the UK and Europe a rare opportunity to experience the richness of Chinese music.
Echoes of Nature
On the evening of 27 August, the Echoes of Nature concert was held at SOAS, themed around China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. The venue was packed with a diverse audience — overseas Chinese as well as many non-Chinese attendees eager to discover Chinese culture.
The performance featured a wide range of traditional instruments including guqin, yangqin, pipa, xiao, guzheng, dizi, and erhu, alongside a special performance of Kunqu opera, offering a vivid panorama of Chinese classical music.
Several pieces explored cross-cultural fusions, blending Chinese and Western instruments to create new tonal colours and harmonies. Highlights included Han Yuhui’s yangqin composition In the Clouds, Kang Yang’s guzheng piece Song of Cang, and Ziyang Huang’s erhu solo The Grapes Are Ripe, all accompanied by piano. Another standout was Brazilian Bach Aria No. 5, performed by Li Guangtai (xiao) and Liu Qing (guitar), merging Eastern elegance with Western modernity.
The concert climaxed with a grand ensemble. Camel Bells on the Silk Road evoked the vast landscapes of the ancient trade routes, followed by Beautiful China, whose majestic score celebrated the grandeur of the country’s mountains and rivers. Significantly, the composer of Beautiful China, Barnaby Taylor — an award-winning British composer best known for the BBC documentary Wild China — was in attendance. Speaking afterwards, he praised the concert highly:
“This was a truly remarkable performance. The colours and emotional power of Chinese traditional music are extraordinary.”
East-West Soundscape
On 29 August, the East-West Soundscape concert took place at St Marylebone Church, marking the artistic high point of the festival.
The evening opened with the London Youlan Qin Society’s unique rendition of the Scottish folk song Skye Boat Song, featuring the ancient Chinese guqin paired with the church’s grand organ — a historic fusion of two of the world’s oldest instruments.
The concert continued with contemporary works, including Zhao Jiping’s Qingyun for guqin and string quartet, Ray Lin’s Sword Shadows for string quartet, Keting Sun’s Borderless for string octet, Linhao Li’s Time-Space Fold, and Xin-Yan Li’s Miao Village Carnival.
Rising Talents
The festival’s third concert spotlighted the winners of the youth competitions, showcasing the skills of young Chinese instrumentalists in the UK. The participants included not only children of Chinese heritage, but also mixed-heritage and British students passionate about Chinese music — some as young as nine.
Among them, 12-year-old Issac Lee-Mather impressed audiences with his Grade 6 level erhu performance, earning first prize twice in the youth category, and surprising many with his fluent Mandarin. Young pipa player Chen Bosusu captivated the audience with her lively solo Joyful Days, while Duan Siyao won the guzheng youth category with a stunning rendition of Yi Ethnic Dance.
For the first time, a folk singing category was also included. Soprano Gao Xue won the top prize with her performance of the ancient song Song of the Yue Boatman. In the professional category, the Special Gold and Gold Awards went to yangqin performers Sun Qingrong and Han Yuhui from Xi’an Conservatory of Music, whose performances of Loulan Lady and In the Clouds were praised for their virtuosity and musical maturity.Key concerts include:“China-West Soundscape” Concert (29 August): premiering works by contemporary composers including Auspicious Clouds by Zhao Jiping, Village Festival by Li Xinyan, Sword Dance by Ray Lin, and Boundless by Sun Keting.“Echoes of Nature” Gala Concert (27 August): spotlighting intangible cultural heritage such as kunqu opera, guqin, and silk and bamboo ensemble music.
A Platform for Cultural Dialogue
The festival not only celebrated the richness of Chinese traditional music but also fostered cross-cultural exchange, offering London audiences a unique and unforgettable artistic feast.
Professor Cheng Yu, the festival’s founder and artistic director, emphasised:
We hope this platform will not only deepen overseas audiences’ understanding of Chinese music but also provide the younger generation with professional guidance and a stage to perform. The festival is not a one-off event, but an ongoing cultural promotion and dialogue.”
