The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the indisputable authority on
music by Slavic maestros like Antonin Dvorak, made its Shanghai
debut on Sunday night, closing the 9th China Shanghai International
Arts Festival, the largest event of its kind in the country.
Having just celebrated its 110th birthday, the orchestra, well
known for its elegant classical string ensemble and its unique
Czech-style acoustics, was currently on its Asian performance
tour.
"The month-long festival provided a communication platform for
cultural dialogue among different countries and prominently
displayed both classic and modern Chinese arts," said Culture
Minister Sun Jiazheng at the closing ceremony.
Sun said the festival, as the "busiest, largest, and most
prosperous performance season in China," would continue to
contribute to the "great development and prosperity of the
socialist culture."
The annual festival this year featured 55 performances,
including symphony orchestras, dances, musicals, and ballets from
both domestic and international groups over the past month, with
attendance totaling 400,000, said Chen Shenglai, President of the
Arts Festival Center at Sunday's press conference.
Chen said 18 painting and artifact exhibitions from more than
140 art institutions of 17 countries, including works by Rembrandt
and selected artifacts from Spain's Prado Museum, were held during
the festival, attracting more than 200,000 visitors.
International artists were also invited to more than 3,000
street activities, carnivals, and school arts events, attracting
more than 1.5 million spectators, proving that the general public,
especially children, can truly enjoy the arts, he said.
"Cultural weeks," such as that of Singaporean, Spain, Hungarian,
and China's northwest Qinghai Province, were also held along with
the festival, introducing arts of a particular region to the
public, Chen said.
Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and sponsored by the Shanghai
Municipal Government, the China Shanghai International Arts
Festival has served as a cultural gala and an artistic pageant
bridging China and the world annually since 1999.
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)
