Traditions turn contemporary with ‘Modern Voices’

Always aiming to take its annual festivals a step further, Carnegie Hall is a taking a literal leap to the other side of the world this year.

While past concerts have featured music from the city of Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, and African-American culture, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices is a 21-day celebration of Chinese music that runs through Tuesday, Nov. 10. “With the China festival, we set out to reflect both China’s rich history of traditional music as well as the latest contemporary scene,” Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall said.

On Oct. 21, the festival’s opening night, the Quanzhou Marionette Theater’s skillful manipulations of string puppetry and equally striking musical accompaniment introduced a new art form to American audiences.

This introduction is consistent with the organizers’ goals for Carnegie Hall’s international festivals, namely “to examine compelling themes and take our audience on journeys of discovery, exploring many musical genres, as well as other art forms across the entire cultural spectrum,” according to Gillinson.

Altogether, the festival’s program includes more than 30 events at Carnegie Hall and throughout the city. As the festival draws to a close, will feature some of the most popular Chinese musicians and composers, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Lang Lang, composer Angel Lam, and conductor Long Yu.

“All [of the artists] were very excited and eager to collaborate with us on this project and bring us their ideas, which highlight the many different aspects of Chinese culture,” Gillinson said.

The name of this festival, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices, is an especially apt representation of China itself. At a time when contemporary values are competing with age-old traditions to determine the country’s future, the music scene offers an example of how the two can coexist harmoniously.

This was recently demonstrated by Lu Wencheng’s “Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake,” a solo piano piece beautifully performed by Lang Lang last Wednesday that combines a marvelous traditional melody with an equally compelling contemporary counterpoint.

This festival brings new music to new ears, and it also offers a window into the vast cultural context in which China’s art scene operates. “Our goal with the festival is to increase understanding about China’s rich cultural scene and inspire further explorations by our attendees,” Gillinson said.

It is no doubt difficult to encapsulate the dynamism and subtleness of Chinese music in a three-week festival. With this in mind, the organizers put their focus in another direction. “We can open doors and give a taste, providing a starting place from which audience members can then explore,” Gillinson noted.