Piano Sounds Convey Friendship, Melodies Link the Two Rivers | The "In Chongqing, See China" China–Russia Years of Education Art Education Exchange Series Concert Successfully Held

When the lilting piano melodies of the Volga met the evening breeze of the Mountain City on the banks of the Yangtze, a cross-border feast of classical music drew to a close. On June 15, the "In Chongqing, See China" China–Russia Years of Education Art Education Exchange Series Concert was successfully held at the Chongqing Grand Theatre, adding another brilliant stroke to China–Russia artistic exchange.

The event was jointly hosted by Chongqing Normal University and Chongqing Poly Culture Investment Theatre Management Co., Ltd., as a significant aesthetic education exchange activity conducted on the platform of the "China–Russia Years of Education." Two Russian pianists shared the stage: Andrei Pisarev, currently Professor and Head of the Piano Department of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, who received the Moscow City Prize for Literature and the Arts for his active concert career and has won numerous honors on the international stage; and the young pianist Ivan Koseev, a doctorate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, soloist with two major orchestras, laureate of piano competitions in multiple countries, and a frequent guest masterclass teacher in Russia, Japan, Yugoslavia, the United States, and Brazil.

The concert unfolded in two chapters of 45 minutes each. The first half presented Medtner's Two Pieces for Two Pianos and Rachmaninoff's Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, their nimble melodies displaying the full flavor of the Russian piano tradition. The second half featured the Symphonic Dances in the composer's own two-piano arrangement, its exquisite performance a perfect embodiment of the enduring appeal of a classic. The two artists performed in seamless rapport, their consummate technique and abundant emotion leading the audience through the distinctive charm of the Russian two-piano repertoire. Music experts in the audience were full of praise, while students of the Conservatory's preparatory program listened with rapt immersion, richly inspired by the artistry.

With music as a bridge, civilizations meet in mutual appreciation. Built upon the cooperative education foundation of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music at Chongqing Normal University, this concert was not only a high-level artistic showcase, but also a vivid practice of deepening China–Russia exchange in art education and strengthening the cultural friendship between the two nations. The Conservatory will continue to cultivate international artistic exchange and present rich musical and cultural events—conveying the friendship of the two countries through the sound of the piano, and letting the lingering melodies echo long along the banks of the two rivers.