On May 11th, Huazhong University of Science and Technology proudly presented a large-scale concert themed on Dream of the Red Chamber at the Optics Valley Stadium. Thousands of people, including Ma Jianhui and Zhang Yao, Vice Chairs of the University Committee, enjoyed this beautiful concert together.
Wu Bixia, professor of the China Conservatory of Music and a distinguished professor of the School of Arts of HUST, and Zhang Lie, a Chinese National Orchestra conductor, performed 10 representative songs and five pieces of instrumental music from the original TV series Dream of the Red Chamber (1987 version). The Chinese Chime Bells Orchestra from Hubei Province and the Chorus of HUST also played an important role in the concert.
After the overture performed by the Chinese Chime Bells Orchestra, Wu Bixia got the concert going with Song of Zilingzhou. Song of Red Beans, Grandma Liu Entering Grand View Garden, Shangyuan Festival and many other songs were performed following that.
“One was a flower from paradise, One a pure jade without spot or stain”, “The blossoms fade and falling fill the air, Of fragrance and bright hues bereft and bare”. The concert came to an end with the beautiful music of Hope Betrayed and The Story of the Stone. The applause lingered even after the show and Wu Bixia performed Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Sea Hometown as encores.
“I didn’t expect a packed auditorium to be honest.” Wu Bixia said. Although she has performed hundreds of concerts based on Dream of the Red Chamber, it is still special for her to perform at HUST. It is the importance that HUST attaches to esthetic education and its efforts to improve students’ artistic development that made it possible for her to perform the concert here in HUST.
Lu Danyang, who participated in the performance as a member of the chorus, said that allowing more people to appreciate the beauty of Chinese traditional art with his own skills is his way of pursuing the spirit of “true art”. Audience Ma Yan was still excited after the end of the concert, saying “I felt like I was in the dream of the red chamber myself from the moment the concert began. It’s really a precious chance to enjoy such a wonderful concert on campus and it is surely helpful in improving our sense of aesthetics.”
Huazhong University of Science and Technology always attaches great importance to cultural practice and activity and promotes the creative evolution and development of traditional Chinese culture by organizing various high-quality art activities. The concert based on Dream of the Red Chamber was organized by the Office of Publicity at HUST and hosted by the School of Arts.
Written by: Qu Mengting
Edited by: Hu Zhenxiang, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng
Chinese
