China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) staged a concert in Moscow Saturday night at the famous Column Hall of the House of the Unions, enthralling Russian music fans.
The CNSO with Michel Plasson as chief conductor came to Moscow for the fifth festival of the world's symphony orchestras, presenting Chinese composer Guan Xia's Requiem for the Earth, Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Saint-Saens' symphony No. 3.
The Requiem for the Earth, particularly dedicated to the May 12 devastating earthquake in China's southwestern Sichuan province, moved the audience with its grandiosity and profound affections.
Guan, executive director of the CNSO, said his symphony has been officially listed as repertoire of the festival.
"What we are doing here is to internationalize symphony, especially China's symphony, to let the West and the whole world hear our voice with an aim to move them and to understand the inner sentiment and feelings of the Chinese people through our music," he told Xinhua.
"The concert is coherent as the entire hall (of audience) has been integrated with the orchestra. The feelings are quite obvious," said a Russian female spectator.
The festival of the world's symphony orchestras was launched five years ago with the presidential fund of the then President Vladimir Putin.