Concert Program｜节目单

MC Script: English Translation｜主持讲稿英文翻译

Opening

Good afternoon, dear friends, and welcome to the 2026 Moon Festival Melody concert!

The Mid-Autumn Festival holds a special warmth in Chinese hearts. It is a time for reunion and remembrance, for gratitude and joy. As the poet Su Shi wrote, “May we all be blessed with long lives, and share the beauty of the moon, though miles apart.” Wherever we may be, when we look up at the same moon, we are connected.

Today, let us follow in the footsteps of music - from classical to modern, from East to West. Through moonlight and melody, we will travel across time and cultures together.

During Ave Maria

The spring river rises to meet the sea;
above the sea, the moon rises with the tide.

Its shimmering light travels for thousands of miles.
Where along the spring river does the moon not shine?

The river winds around fragrant fields;
moonlight falls upon the flowering trees like snow.

A pale mist seems to drift through the air;
the white sand on the shore disappears into the light.

River and sky become one, untouched by dust.
A single bright moon hangs above them.

Who was the first to see the moon beside this river?
And when did this moon first shine upon us?

Generations of people come and go,
while the river moon returns year after year.

For whom does the moon wait? No one can say.
Only the great river keeps flowing on.

After The Swan

In Ave Maria, accompanied by the poetry of A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, we glimpsed a moon that has shone through the ages and touched countless lives. The Swan then brought a moment of stillness and grace to our moonlit evening.

Bach, often called the father of Western music, laid foundations that still shape classical music today. In the nineteenth century, the French composer Charles Gounod added a beautiful melody to one of Bach’s preludes, creating the Ave Maria we know today. The music is both solemn and comforting, peaceful and full of devotion.

Saint-Saëns was a French composer and a musical prodigy. The Swan, from The Carnival of the Animals, is one of his most beloved pieces. In the cello’s warm, singing voice, we can almost see a white swan gliding across a moonlit lake, leaving gentle ripples behind.

If Ave Maria brought us a sense of inner peace, The Swan gave that peace a graceful form. Now, our journey moves into the world of modern music.

First is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by the internationally acclaimed Chinese composer Tan Dun. His music brings Eastern and Western traditions together. The cello’s deep, expansive voice tells a story of love and parting, while Chinese instruments give the music its distinctive color.

Then we will hear Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Its driving rhythms and sweeping melodies will carry us from a world of wandering heroes to the open sea.

Let us continue following in the footsteps of music.

Before Four Seasons

From legendary heroes to adventures at sea, music has taken us through very different worlds. Next, we travel to Argentina for The Four Seasons by Astor Piazzolla.

Known as the father of nuevo tango, Piazzolla brought together traditional tango, classical music, and jazz to create a sound of his own. Where Vivaldi’s Four Seasons evokes the changing natural world, Piazzolla’s reflects the seasons of life in the city: the hope of spring, the passion of summer, the richness of autumn, and the reflection of winter.

At this Mid-Autumn Festival, a season of harvest and reunion, The Four Seasons feels like a celebration of life’s ever-changing journey.

After intermission

Welcome back, everyone.

A familiar Chinese verse tells us that the moon rises above the sea, and people far apart share this same moment. In the first half, we followed music from classical to modern times. In the second half, the conversation between East and West continues.

We begin with Czardas by the Italian composer Vittorio Monti. The czardas is a traditional Hungarian dance. This piece opens freely and tenderly, almost like a whisper beneath the moon. Then the tempo gathers, the excitement builds, and the music bursts into flame.

Next is a cherished work of Chinese music, The Moon Reflected on the Second Spring. Its composer, Hua Yanjun—better known as Abing—was one of China’s great folk musicians. Through a melody that is simple yet profound, the piece reflects on life and fate. Today, we will hear Wu Zuqiang’s arrangement, which gives this familiar music new color and grandeur.

Please enjoy Czardas and The Moon Reflected on the Second Spring.

Before Rococo Variations

In The Moon Reflected on the Second Spring, we heard the quiet depth and poetry of Chinese music. Now we turn westward, to the world of the Russian Romantic composer Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky is one of the world’s most beloved composers. Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker are all his creations. Written in 1877, his Variations on a Rococo Theme is one of the great works he composed for cello.

Tchaikovsky admired the elegance of eighteenth-century Rococo art. In this piece, he reimagines that elegance through a Romantic heart. The theme changes and grows - at times singing with tenderness, at times dazzling with brilliance. It reveals the cello’s remarkable range of expression and the lively dialogue between soloist and orchestra.

Please enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Closing

Today, we followed in the footsteps of music - from Bach and Gounod to Saint-Saëns, Tan Dun, Piazzolla, Hua Yanjun, and Tchaikovsky. We traveled from European concert halls to the poetic landscapes of the East, from music rooted in history to music made for the screen. Beneath the moon, we shared that journey together.

Music brings cultures together. It brings people together, too. Please join me in thanking all of tonight’s wonderful musicians once more!

Thank you for being here. We look forward to sharing the Mid-Autumn Festival with you again next year.

Meet the Artists ｜ 艺术家阵容 

About Mid-Autumn Melody Concert/ 中秋情音乐会

About the Mid-Autumn Festival/ 中秋节

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