The month-long Meet in Beijing arts festival wrapped up last night at the packed Great Hall of the People to the composer Bright Sheng's The Phoenix played by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

The Norwegian-born soprano Anne Margrethe Dahl brought the house down with her super voice. While under the baton of Thomas Dausgaard, the orchestra gave a nice interpretation of the score that it commissioned Sheng to compose in 2003.

Following The Phoenix, the orchestra further thrilled the audience with Stravinsky's Firebird Suit and Brahms' Symphony No 2.

Premiered by the Seattle Symphony under the baton of Gerard Schwarz and featuring soprano Jane Eaglen on February 5, 2004 in Seattle, The Phoenix is a joint-commission by the Seattle Symphony for its centenary and the Danish National Symphony marking the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).

The 50-year-old Sheng, who served as Composer in Residence with the Seattle Symphony from 1992 to 1994, said that in the spring of 2003, he was approached by both of the two orchestras to compose a symphonic work.

He searched for ideas and material, and finally came upon a story by Andersen called The Bird Phoenix.

It tells of a mythical bird who lived for 100 years, flying over far-flung lands and bringing intimations of paradise to all who saw it. The phoenix then builds a nest doubling as its own funeral pyre. From the flames of the bird's demise, a fledgling, a new phoenix arises, and the cycle of birth, death and rebirth repeats itself eternally.

Based on the story, the composer created the 22-minute score The Phoenix, a work for soprano and orchestra.

Of this tale, Sheng says: "I was attracted not only to the beautiful and beguiling narrative, but also moved by the profundity and the grandiose portrayal of the mystical phoenix the bird of Arabia.

"I found Andersen's interpretation of the bird to be illuminating in that it went far beyond the traditional understanding of the legend. He had transformed the celebrated creature into the muse of all artistic creation a bird of epic proportion and majestic inspiration, and the muse of all peoples," says the American.

The concert is also part of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra's Far East tour to celebrate the 200th birthday of Andersen, the great Danish fairy tale writer.

Denmark's biggest and best symphony orchestra, and one of the world's oldest radio symphony orchestras, the 80-year-old Danish National has contributed a number of activities to mark Andersen's bicentenary.

New works based on stories and poems by Andersen have been commissioned, including The Phoenix.

The orchestra will also give a special concert featuring scores for fairy tales such as the Nut Cracker, the works of Beethoven and Chinese and Danish folk melodies for local youngsters tonight to celebrate Children's Day.

Sigurd Barret, a well-known figure from children's television in Denmark, will co-present the concert with Chinese actor Zhang Jinlai (also known as Liu Xiao Ling Tong), well known for his portrayal of the Monkey King in various television productions of the classic legend.

The two will explain each piece of music to their young audience and recited a few of Andersen's fables both in Chinese and Danish.

"The education of the new generation of music lovers always plays an important role at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra," says principal conductor Dausgaard.

The orchestra often invites children and their parents and grandparents to special children's concerts, and has produced a highly successful series of TV programmes for youngsters about the orchestra and its instruments.

Opening with a string of Chinese folk songs and dance extravaganza performed by the China Song and Dance Ensemble at the Tianqiao Theater on April 28, Meet in Beijing 2005 has brought local audiences hundreds of shows by some 50 companies from over 30 countries and regions.

Highlighting the theme "cultural diversity, inheriting and innovation," this year's Meet in Beijing arts festival echoes quite a few cultural events such as the Year of France in China, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Andersen and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between China and the European Union, Chaoyang Pop Music Week and Peking University's Sunlight in May arts festival.

In addition to the performances, the festival also presented four major exhibitions including "Louis XIV: the Sun King's Treasures from the Chateau de Versailles," "New Wave: Modern Art Works from the Pompidou Center of France," Picasso's woodcut works and Finnish architect Alvar Aalto's designs.

According to Zhang Yu, managing director of China Culture and Entertainment Group, presenting company of the festival, some 700,000 people attended the 50 open-air shows held in the parks and squares.

"The festival is in its fifth year and we are more experienced in launching shows and events and the festival itself has become a famous event in the capital," said Zhang.

"What we are concerned with is how to attract more people and more ordinary ones to watch the shows instead of only performing for a clique. That would be a real festival for people. With this in mind, we have tried to present more shows at public parks, squares and other open-air venues and make them free and more easily and widely accessible, he added.

(China Daily June 1, 2005)