At the invitation of the Doctoral Programme in Musicology at City University of Macau’s Faculty of Innovation and Design, Dr Zhang Meng, Deputy Director of the Arts Centre of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of *People’s Music* magazine, recently delivered a lecture titled <The Pluralistic Landscape of Contemporary Chinese National Orchestral Composition>. Through detailed analysis of musical works, Dr Zhang guided doctoral students in exploring the vibrant vitality of contemporary Chinese national music composition. The lecture was chaired by Professor Dai Dingcheng, Head of the Doctoral Programme in Musicology.

Dr Zhang highlighted that, in the early 20th century, the influx of Western music reshaped China’s musical landscape. Under Western aesthetic standards, traditional Chinese music was often labelled as “backward,” leading to a divergence between new music and indigenous traditions despite their parallel development. After a century of reflection, the industry has recognized the crisis of losing cultural roots. Since 2012, over 300 new works for Chinese national orchestras have been created nationwide. This figure not only underscores the flourishing state of contemporary national music composition but also reflects the organic collaboration among composers, conductors, and performers. Increasingly, composers are bridging tradition and modernity, as well as the national and the global, in Chinese music creation. By analyzing how composers preserve the essence of local musical traditions while embracing diverse new styles and modern expressive forms, Dr Zhang illustrated how music is returning to the core of Chinese national orchestral traditions.

The lecture sparked enthusiastic engagement, with students actively participating in discussions and posing questions. Dr Zhang’s expert insights infused the millennia-old tradition of Chinese silk and bamboo music with new dimensions of contemporary artistic expression, showcasing the profound creative vitality of Chinese musical culture.

Written by:WANG XUANNI