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The Konzerthaus on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the center of Berlin.
On the 13th of January 2013, here,
the Closing Concert of the Chinese Culture Year in Germany 2012 took place.
A finale with a world premiere:
a new arrangement of Gustav Mahler's masterpiece,
"Das Lied von der Erde", was performed.
The Zhejang Symphony Orchestra played under the direction
of the Chinese conductor Muhai Tang.
Mahler was inspired by ancient Chinese poetries for his composition.
Muhai Tang had the idea to integrate Chinese instruments
into Mahler's symphonic song cycle.
Ten years ago the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
asked me for the first time to conduct them.
Then I said to myself, what should I do?
For my whole life I have dedicated myself to classical music.
Back then I thought
I rearrange the Mahler piece for Chinese orchestra,
but unfortunately I never had the time to realize this idea.
The composer Cord Garben from Hamburg
realized the idea of Muhai Tang,
creating a symphony of two cultures.
I used Youtube to study the instruments,
what they can do and what they cannot do.
I defined the place they could have in the score,
and I reduced the large orchestra:
instead of four, only two horns;
one trombone instead of three;
the contrabassoon was removed,
so were the third oboe and the third flute.
To make room for the Chinese instruments,
so that they had a chance to be heard.
The vocal accompaniment for the premiere was performed by Iris Vermillion,
one of the best Mahler interpreters worldwide,
and Stefan Vinke, who recently enjoyed great success
with the role of "Siegfried" in London's Covent Garden.
Actually I believe that this is the way Mahler imagined it.
I think he just did not know the Chinese instruments
or did not have the courage to use them.
The piece has gained such a wealth of colors, it's so exciting.
And with the young musicians to play it, that was amazing.
It was definitely a mutually enriching work.
The audience tonight is thrilled.
It was rich in variety. It was good.
"Das Lied von der Erde" enriched with Chinese sonorities
by means of the instruments;
and also a return to the original text,
inspired by Chinese poets.
That was all very harmonious.
Today is a day of celebration between Germany and China.
We have combined Chinese and German culture.
Very nice. It was very moving.
Especially the piece by Gustav Mahler.
The second part of the program consisted
of contemporary compositions from China.
Jiang Guoji played the bamboo flute -
an authentic master of his art.
I think this evening was very interesting.
We presented so many traditional Chinese instruments.
This is a beautiful symbol of the friendship
between Germany and China.
The Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1958.
In addition to the classical Western repertoire,
the orchestra performs pieces of the Chinese music culture,
including commission works by Chinese composers
and traditional Chinese songs from Zhejiang Province.
The mix is very well received.
The flute almost knocked my socks off.
The conductor and the spirit of the orchestra were captivating.
That came across to the audience. They were delighted.
It was a very nice concert
with positive impressions and emotions.
I am very excited.
The concert - a successful conclusion
for the Chinese Culture Year in Germany 2012.
With this project last year we had in Germany
more than 500 cultural events in forty cities.
The spectrum is very wide.
More than 1,500 artists came from China.
Cultural exchange is the most effective way
To promote an understanding among the nations,
because people can meet in person.
The occasion for the Culture Year 2012
was the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations
between China and Germany.
Thanks to the concert of the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra
under the direction of Muhai Tang
a dialogue between cultures has been successfully established.
To be continued.