Year of Chinese Culture in Germany

The first eight of the events of the Year of Chinese Culture in Germany 2012 were met with great enthusiasm: more than 3000 visitors attended the four concerts, two performances of the traditional Kunqu Opera and the opening of a series of dialogues under the heading “Magnet China“ with the former Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt. The ancient culture of China could be explored at the Konzerthaus on Gendarmenmarkt, the Französische Friedrichstadtkirche and the Allianz Forum.

In this successful opening week Chinese artists not only presented the traditional culture of China, but also gave an insight into the Chinese way of understanding and interpreting Western art. The Tagesspiegel wrote about the piano recital by the young Chinese pianist that “and even when Yingdi Sun sings the hymn in Liszt’s transcription of Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture with such introvert calmness, as if Wagner had just done some Tai-Chi, this is no cultural misunderstanding, but an enrichment.“

The press release on the closing of the opening week can be found here (pdf-download in GERMAN only).