Go to a spring appointment, play a Chinese love. From January 4th to 7th, Suzhou Chinese Orchestra went to Nagoya, Japan to participate in the 18th Nagoya Chinese New Year Celebration. This event is co-sponsored by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya, and the local Spring Festival Executive Committee. It is the first offline event of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism 2024 "Happy Spring Festival" at the invitation of the Consulate General in Nagoya, according to the overall arrangement of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism 2024 "Happy Spring Festival" global offline activities.

On this trip to Nagoya, Suzhou National Orchestra not only brought a special concert, but also participated in the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya New Year Welcome party and the Chinese New Year Square performance. While showing the charm of national symphony art, it approached the overseas Chinese in Japan and the Japanese people to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese Year of the Dragon with them.

Chinese phonology Chinese year

Three wonderful performances to celebrate the New Year

Over the years, the foreign exchange brand "Happy Spring Festival" of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has become a frontier window for the world to understand China and a new channel for people-to-people exchanges between China and the world. The Chinese New Year celebration in Nagoya has been held for 18 years so far, and it is the earliest, largest and most influential Spring Festival celebration in Japan.

On the morning of the 5th, the Chinese orchestra appeared at the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya Spring Festival welcome party. In the form of a small ensemble of ethnic instrumental music, the orchestra played the festive Chinese music "Spring Festival Overture" and "Happy Moon" and the classic Japanese music "Four Seasons Song" and "Cherry Blossom", which added to the Suzhou color of the welcome party.

In the evening, the Nagoya special performance of Suzhou National Orchestra "Happy Chinese New Year · Jiangsu" was held at the Nagoya Public Hall. The concert was conducted by Peng Jiapeng, the famous conductor, artistic director and chief conductor of Suzhou National Orchestra, and led by Zhu Changyao, the famous Erhu player and artistic director of the orchestra.

A jubilant "Festival Overture" kicked off the performance; Subsequently, the orchestra performed the Chinese orchestral music "Red Dragonfly and Citrus Flowers" adapted from Japanese music and the Chinese Erhu song "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" with the characteristics of Jiangnan silk bamboo music. Immediately after, the orchestra commissioned the "Symphony of Silk and bamboo" played, which vividly demonstrated the deep love of Jiangsu children for their hometown. In the second half, the orchestra brought the Chinese symphony "Bright", which was widely praised during the domestic and European Tours, to show the Chinese national spirit. In the warm cheers of the audience, the orchestra also performed the Chinese orchestral version of "Cherry Blossom", "Flower and Moon" and "Thunder and Lightning Polka" three classic adaptations of Chinese, Japanese and European, and the audience applauded and applauded for a long time.

On the morning of the 6th, the orchestra also participated in the Nagoya Chinese New Year Event Square performance. Surrounded by the strong Chinese New Year flavor, the venue welcomed a large number of local citizens and tourists. In the joyful atmosphere of the Spring Festival, the orchestra played Japanese music "Red Dragonfly", new folk music "New Spring Music in Happy Year", wind music "Happy" and percussion "Dragon and Tiger Leap" and other Chinese and Japanese folk music pieces. Chinese national Musical Instruments appeared in turns. The exciting sound, lively performance, and Chinese music elements interwoven with tradition and modernity attracted the audience to stop and listen, and applauded the Chinese Sound Year with warm applause.

Sizhu Jiangnan Sizhu symphony

The band's debut in Nagoya was praised

Ms. Tan, who has long lived in Nagoya, could not hide her excitement after watching the concert: "It was wonderful! I came to listen with some Japanese friends and told them it was a band from my hometown. They were all amazed by the superb artistic level of the artists and the international expression of Chinese music culture!" Welcoming the Spring Festival activity square, Mr. Sun sighed: "Suona, erhu, drum, guzheng... Familiar music sounds, this is the New Year flavor. I have no time to go home this Spring Festival, for me, today is early Spring Festival!"

"The 'Happy Spring Festival' is an important platform to closely connect us with overseas Chinese and people around the world. Over the years, the orchestra has actively participated in the event, touring Europe during the Spring Festival in 2019, and participating in the Happy Spring Festival online exhibition every year since 2020. It is a great honor to come to Nagoya this year and celebrate the New Year with Chinese, compatriots and international friends in Japan through three concerts." Zhu Changyao said.

"Chinese music has a profound influence on Japan, and many Japanese people are familiar with Chinese folk instruments and traditional works. This concert is an in-depth exchange of culture and art, and also allows the Japanese audience to have a diverse understanding of the current development of Chinese ethnic orchestral music. "To see so much positive feedback from the audience, I think it gives us a lot of pride to be so popular in Japan." Peng Jiapeng said.

It is reported that this activity is the prelude to the return of "Happy Spring Festival · Water Rhyme Jiangsu" offline after the epidemic, which is of great significance to show the cultural style of Jiangsu and deepen cultural exchanges and mutual learning of civilizations between the two places.