As the New Year approaches, “AIA Night · Kong Xiangdong 2025 New Year’s Concert” will be played at the Youbang Grand Theatre on the North Bund of Shanghai on January 24, 2025. We invite most music fans to welcome the arrival of the New Year together and feel the good wishes music brings to the motherland and everyone.
This concert will present the fusion of the essence of contemporary Chinese culture and Western classical music. It not only contains a tribute to classic Chinese music works but also integrates the emotional expression of classical romantic music. In this concert, Kong Xiangdong will once again join hands with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra led by the permanent conductor, Mr. Zhang Liang, to play four piano concertos at the concert, showing his superb piano skills and deep understanding of music, which is undoubtedly a musical event worth looking forward to.
“Ode to Red Flag” and “The Yellow River” Chinese Feelings
In the first half of this concert, Kong Xiangdong and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra will present two classic Chinese works of great significance: “Ode to Red Flag” and “The Yellow River.”
At the opening ceremony of the 39th “Shanghai Spring” International Music Festival in 2024, Kong Xiangdong, with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Yu Feng, premiered the new version of the piano and orchestra adapted by the 94-year-old composer Lyu Qiming for “Ode to Red Flag.” This work became the most eye-catching cultural event in the Chinese music industry in 2024.
The upcoming 2025 is the 120th anniversary of the birth and 80th anniversary of the death of Mr. Xian Xinghai, the author of the Yellow River Chorus. The Yellow River Piano Concerto is a piano concerto adapted from Yin Chengzong, Chu Wanghua, Liu Zhuang, and Sheng Lihong based on the Yellow River Chorus. It is also one of the most classic works of Chinese piano concertos. Among the many performance versions, Kong Xiangdong is the pianist who plays “The Yellow River” piano concerto, most often with significant orchestras at home and abroad. The first pianist to adapt “The Yellow River” piano concerto into a solo version as early as 1987, Kong Xiangdong cooperated with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to record for the first time. Production of “The Yellow River” The record “The Yellow River” recorded by Kong Xiangdong in 1992 won the Platinum Record Award issued by the Hong Kong Recording Industry Association, with a global circulation of more than 10 million; in 1997, Kong Xiangdong played “The Yellow River” at the Hollywood Bowl Theater in Los Angeles, USA; then became the first in Taipei, China in 2002. The pianist who played the original “The Yellow River”.
The two piano and orchestral works “Ode to Red Flag” and “The Yellow River” reflect each other, which is not only the “national color imprint” from 2024 to 2025 but also full of Kong Xiangdong’s contribution to contemporary Chinese classical music works and the older generation of Chinese musicians, which is of extraordinary significance.
The Ultimate Romance of “Warsaw Concerto” and “ Rhapsody in Blue”
In the concert’s second half, Kong Xiangdong will lead the audience to experience more international romance and fantasy. The Warsaw Concerto is a piano concerto composed by Richard Addinsell for the film. This work has a strong romantic, lyrical feature. Its music is full of stories and pictures, and the sad melody combines the hazing musical color. Rhapsody in Blue is a classic music work composed by American composer Gershwin. This work has been 100 years old since its inception in 1924. It is the “blues moment” dedicated to the music world by Gershwin. The work combines classical music and jazz elements. It has a strong infectious power and lasting charm.
The continuous performance of two musical works that stimulate the audience’s and musicians’ inner emotions will be a “cross-border experience” that touches the depths of the soul.
A New Start for More Cooperation
Following “AIA Night · Kong Xiangdong 2024 New Year’s Concert”, AIA Life once again exclusively sponsored Kong Xiangdong’s 2025 New Year’s Concert. AIA Life and Kong Xiangdong have established collaboration since 2024. After a year of close cooperation, Mr. Kong Xiangdong became a famous partner of AIA Life’s aesthetic education project and carried out many in-depth and diversified cooperations. From the offline art education master course to the online Rethink Healthy Campaign, it opens a window for the masses of different ages and different stages of art learning to discover beauty, understand beauty, pursue beauty, and realize good feedback and commitment to the public of “Healthier Longer Better Lives” with high-quality art activities.
This concert will be a new start for more cooperation between AIA Life Insurance and Mr. Kong Xiangdong. Mr. Zhang Min, Chief Customer Officer of AIA Life, said: With the close collaboration of the whole year last year, Mr. Kong Xiangdong, as an internationally renowned piano artist, has provided us with more interpretations of ” Healthier Longer Better Lives. ” On the occasion of the New Year, we are proud to present the “AIA Night · Kong Xiangdong 2025 New Year’s Concert” as promised and this time at AIA Grand Theatre. This music feast will enrich people’s spiritual lives and meet their diverse artistic needs. In 2025, AIA will continue to cultivate the aesthetic education platform and help more Chinese families achieve “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”
The whole concert will be broadcast live on online platforms such as the video account of Master Club, B Station, Weibo, TikTok, the official video account of AIA Insurance, the video account of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, and the official account of Kong Xiangdong.
For this carefully planned 2025 New Year’s concert, Kong Xiangdong, who was born in HongkouDistrict, Shanghai, said that it was a happy personal love to play the 2025 New Year’s concert at the North Bund Youbang Grand Theater in Hongkou District, Shanghai. I would like to thank AIA Insurance for its trust and support. “Life is short, but the notes are long”. I hope we can join hands to convey our good wishes for the New Year with beautiful music. I hope music can make every audience feel the power of love and hope in the melody.
Published by Elle G.
