“Vijay Upadhayaya, the first Indian to compose classical western music on Chinese cultural themes, will be presenting his 60-member orchestra at a Beijing auditorium on Tuesday,” writes Saibal Dasguptal in Sunday’s (11/11) Times of India. “The composition, which Upadhayaya will present, was commissioned by the government-backed China National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. ‘Tomorrow, we will present symphonic music for large orchestra that reflect Chinese philosophy and use some of the Chinese musical instruments,’ Upadhyaya told Times of India…. Lucknow-born Upadhyaya will conduct it with 90 musicians in the orchestra and 70 singers in the chorus. Almost all of them are Chinese barring 11 Europeans, who joined him from Vienna…. Upadhyaya has been working on the Chinese musical project for 10 years. He speaks German, English and Chinese besides Hindi. He draws on his Indian roots and his study of the philosophies of Confucius and Lao Tse to mold his music. Watching him in the audience will be some of China’s respected musicians and Guan Xia, the director of China National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, who entrusted him with the task of crafting this rare piece of music fusing western and Chinese cultural traditions.”
Posted November 14, 2017
