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Culture News

Chinese, Western musical pieces presented at outdoor concert in NYC

2019-08-21 14:30:25

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sitting on the grass, or lying on a carpet, hundreds of New Yorkers enjoyed a melodious Western-Eastern fusion in the heart of Manhattan on Monday night as a free outdoor concert was presented by 50 American and ethnic Chinese musicians from the Asian Cultural Symphony of the USA.

With glistening skyscrapers as the backdrop, the concert held at the Bryant Park marked both a contest between and a resonance of the two musical styles from the opposite sides of the world, as selected pieces from the Peking opera and Madama Butterfly took turns to enchant the audience and a saxophone player joined the suona horn in playing the famous, energetic Chinese folk tune of "Hao Han Ge (A Song to Tough Guys)."

As other pieces, such as violin solo "Zigeunerweisen" and "All I Ask Of You" from the Broadway musical The Phantom Of The Opera, and Erhu solo "My Home Town is Beijing" went on, more and more passers-by were attracted to join the audience at the oasis in the concrete jungle.

"I was just off work and heard the melodies before I entered the subway station," said Calvin Chen who works nearby. "It's a great way to spend a summer night with music, sunset and breeze."

Many found the sounds of Chinese instruments refreshing and interesting. "The suona horn sometimes sounds like bird-chirping, and sometime like horse neighing, I've never heard something like this before and I like it," said Wendy Hunter who was having a picnic with her friends in the park.

It's the third time for Asian Cultural Symphony of the USA to hold the summer concert at Bryant Park. The New York-based ensemble is an affiliate of the Asian Cultural Center (U.S.A.), a 31-year-old organization committed to serving as a bridge of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. 

Editor:Jiang Yiwei