Chinese Classical Music Charms U.S. Audiences

A concert by the China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO) held in the northeast U.S. state of New Jersey on January 29, enthralled thousands of spectators with its music and performance.

On the night of the event, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center located in downtown Newark was packed with local Americans and overseas Chinese which had come to experience and appreciate Xuanzang’s Pilgrimage, a work featuring the legendary Chinese Monk Xuanzang’s journey along the Silk Road to obtain Buddhist scriptures in the 7th century.

Demonstrated by top musicians of the traditional Chinese musical instruments such as pipa, a pear-shaped fretted instrument, huqin, the Chinese two-stringed fiddle, and the bamboo flute; the symphonies brought back to life the arduous and glorious journey of Xuanzang through desolate deserts and over precipitous cliffs, which took him 17 years.

The ensemble also performed some classical Chinese pieces such as A Night of Flowers and Moonlight by the Spring River and Xintianyou, a folk music style from northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

The audience gave a rapturous standing ovation with loud cheers when the final piece concluded, to which the musicians responded with two encores, including the jubilant Blooming Flowers and Full Moon .

Founded in Beijing in 1960, the CNTO has won wide acclaim by highlighting traditional Chinese musical themes while incorporating modern technologies into its productions. The concert came to the United States as a part of Image China, a high-level cultural exchange program presented by the China Arts and Entertainment Group.