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in the world is reflected in its thriving classical music scene

The great Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter gives a song master class for a group of talented young students. It complains gently guide not to use the soft pedal enough coaches and one of the singers to evoke the innocence: "The character matures, becomes pregnant and dies very early in this cycle, but at this point, it is still a girl .. "The drill master-class standard, in fact, unless Von Otter, energetic, dressed in a blue tracksuit clear, it is sharing their knowledge in a greenhouse or concert hall, but in a Beijing luxury car showroom decorated with two high Audi range and huge images of Gustav Mahler.

"I knew beforehand that the place was called the Audi Forum," Laughing later. "But when I could not believe what I saw. I do not think it's actually in the midst of all these cars incredibly sexist. He felt like a James Bond movie. I'm not used the smell of leather and rubber both sing songs. " von Otter was in China as one of the stars, became the 14th Beijing Music Festival and in many ways characterized his talk of ethics throughout the event. It would make music from a stellar cast out in the context of modern Chinese new places bright, enthusiastic young audience and a hug without complex business. China, with von Otter were the likes of Riccardo Muti, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Harding and Matthias Goerne. They played with some of the best orchestras in China and others to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death.

"This is clearly a period of political and economic change in the world," said Muti, who conducted the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in the closing gala of the festival. "And when that is clearly reflected in the music is fascinating. During my career the way we think music has changed. When I was not the idea that the Germans were the best in the music of Germany and Italy were the only ones who could really play Verdi, etc. It was never true. Toscanini, for example, was a great conductor of Wagner. Now, the idea seems absurd. " Muti said the stereotype that China's rapid progress had given musical "technique, while we in the west, still has the soul, is now very outdated. They are certainly running Instead of walking in terms of technique, but they showed their classical musicians also have souls. Of course, I can see the commercial and political reasons to make connections with other cultures, but when you do it through Beethoven, Verdi, Vivaldi and Mahler, people communicate in order to go beyond business as and policies. The sense of universality that we cherish the great tradition of our music is just that. It is up to them we belong. "

But even for the development of musical culture as fast as China is not a series of high level of over 20 concerts of Mahler - and talking partners, education sessions, awareness and master classes - a leap? No evidence of the festival, say local musicians and visitors. In fact, Mahler is particularly relevant to the exhibition as a blanket. It is almost exactly 100 years to the day that the first complete performance of his great "symphony" for orchestra and voice Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the earth "), was heard in Munich. He posted the eighth century, the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai - which was later adapted by Ezra Pound and many other writers in the west - and the musical work is full of Chinese motifs. The Chinese-American director Lan Shui grew up in Beijing on 70 and 80 years and is now principal conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Copenhagen. He said that at the time Mahler was composing, the links between East and West were relatively open, certainly more than in most periods before and after. "As a student I ' I took much more time to connect with the music, say, from Bach to Mahler. Perhaps, in practical terms, because there was no church music here too, where I grew up, but also the emotions felt by most of the distance. Mahler's musical language and universal emotions seems to contain much of his work, not only

Das Lied von der Erde , it seems that the Chinese poetry, as he seemed to have both a free and strong structure. "

von Otter was remarkably aware of the impact of Mahler in his account. "The culture of concerts is a bit different here in the west and were detected noise and movement in the audience than usual. But when I got to six songs by Mahler, suddenly became very quiet. Each of them also knew that music, or music that spoke to them in a special way. "

now tens of millions of Chinese children are learning the piano and violin, and music is strongly supported in the country for local and national government, and promoted abroad by organizations such as the Columbia Foundation KT Wong, whose efforts resulted in a production of Handel Beijing
Semele and see a young Chinese version of Britten casting