The biennial China Orchestra Festival returned with a number of top Chinese orchestras, conductors and soloists from all over the country showcasing their talents at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

Between March 30 and the end of this month, 21 concerts are being staged by 16 Chinese symphony orchestras under the baton of 15 conductors.

The opening concert was performed by the China NCPA Orchestra and conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev, featuring young Chinese cellist Li La. Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme and the Russian composer's Symphony No 5 in E Minor, Op 64 were played.

Gergiev was among the first international musicians to perform at the NCPA since the country relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions.

"The China Orchestra Festival showcases and promotes Chinese symphony orchestras and Chinese musical works. The festival has witnessed the growth of Chinese symphony orchestras," says Wang Wei, head of the performance department of the NCPA.

Highlights of the festival include concerts by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Tan Lihua, the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra performing with conductor Jin Yukuang and the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Zhang Yi.

"Ever since the founding of the NCPA, I have been involved in planning the China Orchestra Festival, which was held in 2008 for the first time, one year after the NCPA was launched," recalls conductor Tan.

According to Tan, during the first China Orchestra Festival, symphony orchestras chose their own programs without any requirement. However, during the second China Orchestra Festival, all the participating orchestras were asked to perform at least one music piece by a Chinese composer.

"It has become a tradition for the festival to present Chinese music pieces. It also shows that the country's contemporary music scene is evolving with more original pieces being premiered," Tan says.

On Thursday, he will play with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, featuring two Chinese music works: Symphony No 3 Peking Opera by Bao Yuankai and Symphonic Suite Charming Beijing by Zhou Long.

He notes that Bao's work explores the elements of Peking Opera, a 200-year-old ancient Chinese art form, and Zhou's work portrays four different scenes of Beijing, such as the bustling temple fair and the Bell and Drum towers.

"Back in 2008, there were about 20 symphony orchestras in the country, and now we have over 80.The orchestras represent, and produce the sounds of, the cities in which they are located. Each city is unique, so the orchestras are all different," says Tan.

The beautiful natural scenery of Zhejiang province is depicted by composer Zhou Xianglin in the music piece Qiantang River in the Warm Spring. The composition will be performed by the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Zhang on April 23. The orchestra will also perform Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, Op 58, which was based on the poem Manfred, written by Lord Byron in 1817.

On April 28, Zhang will conduct the symphony orchestra of the National Ballet of China with a concert featuring Chinese music pieces: Suite of Saibei by Huang Anlun and pipa concerto, Song of a Pipa Player, by Xu Zhenmin, as well as Five Etudes-Tableaux by Rachmaninoff, marking the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth.

Composer Ye Xiaogang's latest piece, Ben Cao, will be premiered by the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Jin Yukuang on April 16.

The composition is named after Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), the most complete and comprehensive medical book ever written in the history of traditional Chinese medicine. Its author Li Shizhen was a Chinese medical scientist during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Ye says that he was inspired by herbs.

"When I traveled around Sichuan province, I saw many herbs, which intrigued me. I put photos of those herbs in my office, which are just beautiful paintings," says Ye, mentioning that he has written a series of music works inspired by plants, such as The Faint Ginkgo and Datura. "When I composed the piece, it felt like an impressionist painting."

According to Wang Qing, head of the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra, Ye has been commissioned by the orchestra to compose musical pieces such as Mountain Emei, a double concerto for violin solo, percussion solo and orchestra. The piece is based on folk music collected from the eponymous mountainous area of Sichuan by the composer, and is inspired by the breathtaking scenery.

According to Li Nan, head of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Yu Long and the ensemble will give two concerts, closing the 8th China Orchestra Festival on April 29 and 30.

The program will feature Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, Op 48 and Symphony No 5 in E Minor, Op 64.

Li Nan notes that cellist Wang Jian's performance of Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op 104 will be the highlight of the concert on April 30. It's one of the most performed cello concertos in the world and also the piece played most often by Wang Jian, who, after a decadeslong career of touring the world, has returned to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in his hometown.