Suzhou Symphony Orchestra (SZS) from SIP staged a chamber music concert at the China Cultural Center in Brussels, Belgium on Jan 24 (local time). The integration of the chamber music and Kunqu opera, a form of traditional Chinese opera with a history of over 600 years, amazed the audiences.

The performance was part of the “Happy Chinese New Year ? Charm of Jiangsu” Cultural and Tourism Promotion event jointly sponsored by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the China Cultural Center in Brussels, and also an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of China-EU relations under the 2025 “Happy Spring Festival” program of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

SZS created the work for the concert in collaboration with Chen Qiangbin, a professor at Department of Composition of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, based on eight parts of “The Peony Pavilion”, a classic work of Kunqu opera.

The musicians from SZS and the performers from Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre also staged a flash mob show at a street in Brussels, attracting lots of passersby.

January 25, 2025