Guan Xia's music opens Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Culture Festival with streaming on Wiener Staatsoper Live

Guan Xia, former director of the China National Symphony Orchestra and a prolific composer of a wide range of output including TV music and symphonies, was featured in the opening concert of the 37th China Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Culture Festival on October 17th in Kaifeng.

The portrait concert, hosted by the municipality of Kaifeng, presented a full spectrum of Guan's music including the overture The Glory of the New Era, a commission for the occasion, as well as popular masterpieces like All Birds Worship the Phoenix, Piano Concerto Founders, Farewell to My Concubine, The Heart of Love for violin and orchestra, etc performed by the newly founded China Academia Orchestra conducted by En Shao (artistic director Wang Liguang).

Born in 1957 in Kaifeng where he began his music education, Guan graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1985. His works are performed by some of the greatest orchestras and in important venues in China and around the globe, and his opera Mulan Psalm was presented by Wiener Staatsoper as a guest performance in 2008. As a result the composer received an accolade from the house.

In order to fully address the achievement of Guan as the music son of Kaifeng where his 92-year-old mother and brother still live, the city decided to present a portrait concert of him to open the annual Chrysanthemum Culture Festival, a key cultural event of the city. It is the first time for the festival to open with an orchestral concert which normally opened with a gala, a variety show or a soirée, probably also the first time for the city to have a visiting orchestra.

To meet the need of a concert, the foyer of Kaifeng Museum where the concert took place was transformed into a venue while additional lights, removable seats enough to accommodate 1,000 audience and stage settings were prepared under the glass ceiling and the Dasheng Bell.

As one of the oldest cities in China, Kaifeng used to be the capital through eight dynasties. Under the reign of the House of Zhao, Kaifeng was at its peak for approximately 168 years. With a population of 1.5 million, it was the envy of the world in the 11th century.

Emperor Zhao was regarded a decent artist. History goes that one day, when one of his pieces for carillon was played in the palace, a flock of red-crowned cranes gathered on the roof listening with joy. The scene was immortalised by the emperor in a painting. Until today the red-crowned cranes stand for the long tradition of music and arts in this important city – and a bell from emperor Zhao’s carillon is the treasure of the museum.

As an important part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, nine of Guan Xia’s works were presented in the concert. Captured by a joint crew comprising members from both China and Austria, the concert was broadcast live on 14 outdoor big screens across the town and its counties, and streamed live on leading video streaming platforms in China including iQiyi, as well as on Wiener Staatsoper Live at home as a guest streaming.

It is not for coincidence that large bouquets of chrysanthemums are watched by hundreds of thousands of people in front of the big screens and home screens: 3.1 million pots of them of over 1.000 species are cultivated in Kaifeng – not only for the eyes, is it also enjoyed in full blossom as a colourful glass of chrysanthemum tea.