On the evening of October 28, 2024, the Chengdu ASEAN Arts Center Concert Hall was filled with melodious music as it successfully hosted the opening event of the 2024 International Culture & Arts Exchange Festival under the theme "Silk Road Journeys: Shared Paths, Shared Melodies," marking the arts component of Chengdu University's 8th International Exchange Week.
This violin and piano concert was performed by Christine Utomo, Associate Professor of Piano and foreign expert at CCAA, together with German violinist Iskandar Widjaja.
As a soloist, collaborative pianist and music educator, Professor Utomo has performed and taught in Indonesia, the United States, Europe and China. She currently serves as Associate Professor at CCAA. Her performance credits include the Shanghai Philharmonic's Weekly Broadcast Concert, Dubrovnik Symphony Summer Festival, International Bach Competition, and concerts in the Netherlands, among other appearances across the U.S., Europe, China and Indonesia.
Iskandar Widjaja is a world-renowned violinist acclaimed by ARTE (September 2019) as "one of the most exciting violinists in the international music scene." He has collaborated with prestigious orchestras worldwide including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Munich, Warsaw and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The concert opened with César Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major. Iskandar Widjaja's versatile and lively violin performance instantly captivated the audience, while Christine Utomo's warm and moving piano playing gently stirred listeners' hearts.
Over the next hour, pieces such as Kreisler's Praeludium, Chopin's Nocturne in C Minor, Op. posth., and Gershwin/Frolov's "Porgy and Bess" Fantasy were performed in succession—sometimes light and agile, sometimes lyrical and melodious—fully showcasing the two musicians' masterful technique and mature musical expression.
After the program concluded, the audience responded with overwhelming applause that lingered endlessly. Unwilling to leave, the crowd continued cheering until the artists returned for two encores: a special rendition of the Chinese classic "The Moon Represents My Heart" as a thank-you to the audience, followed by Iskandar Widjaja's self-composed lyrical song, where he unveiled his vocal talents and brought the entire performance to another climactic peak.
To promote mutual learning among civilizations and build an open and inclusive international exchange platform, the "Silk Road Journeys: Shared Paths" 2024 International Culture & Arts Exchange Festival organized by the International Department of CCAA will last for more than one week. During this period, various cultural and artistic exchange activities will be held, including masterclasses, concerts, and an international cultural market. Through artistic exchange to promote mutual learning among civilizations, and with high-level international culture and arts activities, we are firmly committed to deepening local services, strengthening cultural exchange and cooperation, and contributing to enhancing Chengdu's international competitiveness in arts and humanities.
