About:
Fifty years ago, President Nixon pulled back the bamboo curtain separating the United
States and China—and the Philadelphia Orchestra stepped across the threshold. After
Western music was targeted for elimination during the Cultural Revolution, a historic
visit by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973 touched hearts and rekindled a love for
the music despite years of silence. Narrated by American and Chinese musicians and
historians, the film explores the impact of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic
tour on China both then and now.
Join the Long US-China Institute for a free viewing of Beethoven in Beijing, followed by a live Q&A with the director and producers of the film on January 24
at 2pm PT. The documentary will be available from January 17 through January 26.
Register:
Speakers:
Jennifer Lin is an award-winning journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. She
created the feature-length documentary, Beethoven in Beijing, which was nationally broadcast on PBS's Great Performances. For 31 years, Lin worked
at the Philadelphia Inquirer as a reporter, including posts as a foreign correspondent
in China, a financial correspondent on Wall Street, and a national correspondent in
Washington DC.
Jindong Cai is director of the US-China Music Institute, professor of music and arts
at Bard College, and associate conductor of The Orchestra Now. Over his 30-year career
in the United States, Cai has established himself as an active and dynamic conductor,
scholar of Western classical music in China, and leading advocate of music from across
Asia. He is the co-author, with Sheila Melvin, of the book Beethoven in China and was a consultant and producer of the documentary.
Sheila Melvin writes about culture in China. She is a regular contributor to The International Herald Tribune and Caixin, and her articles have appeared in numerous other publications, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of several books, including Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese and The Little Red Book of China Business.
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