A festive feel takes center stage

Romantic songs will be performed by such musicians as pianist Zhang Jialin, soprano Gan Lulu and harpist Sun Shimeng during a concert on Feb 14, to celebrate Valentine's Day. Actor Shi Yueling will read romantic poems by the likes of William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Nie Luda.

Traditional Chinese-instrument musicians, including erhu (two-stringed fiddle) player Song Fei and pipa (four-stringed Chinese lute) player Wu Yuxia, will perform with pianists.

"Many of the pieces we'll perform are newly arranged for the festival," Song says.

"Audiences will enjoy a fresh experience of these two ancient musical instruments, the erhu and pipa."

Song adds that folk-music elements from different parts of China, such as Pingtan (storytelling and singing in the Suzhou dialect to music) and ethnic Mongolian music, will be integrated into the pieces.

"The pandemic has made people feel stressed and anxious for a whole year," says conductor Hu Biao, who'll lead the Poly Tiange Traditional Chinese Orchestra to perform at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on Feb 26, which is the date for Lantern Festival this year.