The China Cultural Centre in Malta marked the approach of the Mid-Autumn Festival with two events celebrating the richness of Chinese traditional music, culminating in a prestigious concert by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra at the Manoel Theatre on 3 September.

The celebrations began on 2 September at the China Cultural Centre in Valletta with Chinese Elegance: A Mid-Autumn Musical Evening, an intimate lecture-performance by members of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra. Guests had the opportunity not only to hear traditional Chinese music but also to discover the history and distinctive sounds of its instruments. An exchange with the musicians followed, while mooncakes and traditional refreshments brought a taste of the approaching Mid-Autumn Festival to the evening.

The following night, the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra took to the historic stage of the Manoel Theatre for Music from the Sea. Founded in 1952, the orchestra presented a programme that brought Chinese musical traditions into contemporary expression, while also paying tribute to its Maltese setting with a performance of the Maltese song Festa. With every seat taken, the concert played to a packed theatre and an audience that responded enthusiastically from the outset.

The concert showcased the remarkable range of traditional Chinese instruments, from plucked strings such as the guzheng and pipa to the two-stringed bowed erhu, and wind instruments including the bamboo dizi, sheng and powerful suona. In the hands of accomplished musicians, their distinctive voices moved effortlessly between delicate, graceful melodies and passages of breathtaking speed and energy. Applause and cheers punctuated the evening, before the musicians were ultimately greeted by a standing ovation from the entire theatre.

In his address, Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Zhang Zuo observed that, amid a turbulent and shifting international landscape, "we use music to cross mountains and seas, we use symphony to seek resonance, and we use melody to celebrate peace".

Among the Maltese guests, Consul General Lisa Azzopardi described the concert as a rare and superb experience, while the Manoel Theatre's artistic director, Adrian Mamo said it was an honour for the historic theatre to welcome artists of such calibre from China. Heritage Malta chairman, Mario Cutajar remarked that people grow closer when they come to know and understand each other's cultures, describing art as a universal language through which Malta and China can better understand one another.

The Malta concert was the first stop of the Music from the Sea tour. The orchestra will next travel to Sweden and Denmark to continue the performances.Top of Form

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