A concert of traditional Japanese music, Gagaku, will be put on in a joint Chinese-Japanese performance this month during an ongoing Shanghai International Arts Festival.
The concert, with the theme of "tradition and modernization", will be staged by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Japanese Gagaku troupes to mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of the diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
Gagaku evolved from the music and dance items of China's imperial Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and developed into its two current categories of pure string music and music with accompanying dancing.
The concert will feature both traditional pieces and modern works, including music performance, dancing, chanting of sutras, and symphonies composed by both Chinese and Japanese musicians in a blend of Oriental music with Western styles.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2002)
