Nanjing celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with concerts

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Tuesday September 17 this year, means mooncakes, moon-gazing with family members, and music if you happen to be in Nanjing.

In honor of the full moon, the 10th Nanjing Forest Music Festival will take place from Friday the 13th to Tuesday the 17th. Billed as an "international, professional, and classical" music event, the Festival has won the heart of many with its perfect combo of the beauty of nature and the ingenuity of human creativity.

The festival's designated venue, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage at Zhongshan Mountain National Park, was built in 1933 and designed by renowned Chinese architect Yang Tingbao. For over 90 years, this architectural gem, an amphitheater adorned with Chinese-style engravings and motifs, has been a witness to spectacles of cultural exchanges.

This year, artists from Hungary, Italy, Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic, and China will come together to present masterpieces from their respective traditions. Highlights include the first outdoor performance in Nanjing of the full opera "Turandot", including the iconic Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower", a piece from Jiangsu that bridges Eastern and Western cultures, expressing humanity's shared longing for love and reunion on this special night.

Schedule:

September 13

Conductor Yang Yang, cellist Zhai Huili, and vocalist Li Jingjing will lead the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra to kick off the festival with the theme music of Nanjing Forest Music Festival "Forest Symphony".

September 14

Renowned Russian conductor Yaroslav Zaboyarkin, Danish cellist Senja Rummukainen, and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra will share music steeped in the festive spirit, and revealing Russian myths and legends.

September 15

Acclaimed conductor Zhang Chengjie will take the stage with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra and dancers from the Teatro di San Carlo Ballet Company, showcasing pieces like the fouetté turns from "Swan Lake".

September 16

This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary. Hungarian maestro János Kovács, Czech violinist Josef Špaček and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra will bring to life the vibrant works of Central European composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and Fibich.

September 17

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Italian opera masterpiece "Turandot" will dazzle audiences. As the final work of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, "Turandot" is rich in Chinese elements, notably featuring the melody of the Jiangsu folk song "Jasmine Flower" as a musical theme. This performance will see "Turandot" return to its musical roots in Nanjing.

Under the baton of Italian maestro Aldo Sisillo, alongside opera stars from Italy and China, the concert under the full moon promises to leave you spellbound.

Source: The Information Office of Nanjing, Zhongshan Mountain National Park