On the evening of September 2, 2022, the Chinese and Foreign Art Songs Concert was brilliantly staged in the Concert Hall of Shandong Provincial Congress Theater. The concert featured soprano singer, Dr. Huang Lu, a vocalist from the China Conservatory of Music, together with Zhang Huan, a young pianist and artistic director of the Italian Opera, presenting an audio-visual feast with a distinctive theme.

Zhou Yutong was the conductor of this concert. She introduced the origin of Chinese and Western art songs, the background and emotional expression of each work, and also depicted her eager expectation for the prosperity of Chinese and Western art songs.

Based on the different creative periods and emotional expressions of Chinese and Western art songs, the selection of songs in this concert not only reproduced the historical classics, but also told a new chapter of the times, presenting the prosperous development of Chinese and Western art songs, showing our adherence to the concept of “enhancing the artistic aesthetics and cognition of the contemporary young people, creating a new mode of artistic inheritance, and carrying forward the classic heritage of Chinese culture”, as well as the construction of the Chinese cultural heritage. “It demonstrates our deep heritage and contemporary contribution in the process of building “a truly ‘sustainable’ development of Chinese culture”.

In his speech at the 2019 National Education Work Conference, Comrade Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “comprehensively strengthen and improve aesthetic education in schools, insist on educating people with beauty and culture, and improve students' aesthetic and humanistic qualities” and “cultivate roots and cast souls.” Chinese art songs are not only continuously carrying out the work of Chineseization of western art songs, but also the musical reproduction of Chinese poems and lyrics, and a good carrier of aesthetic education for all people.

Throughout the centuries, Chinese art songs have been following the footsteps of the times, reflecting people's lives and spirituality, and going through thick and thin with the people. during the war years in the first half of the 20th century, the themes were mostly about national self-improvement, patriotism and love for home and country, and calling for a peaceful and tranquil life; after the founding of the country, Mao Zedong's poems and art songs have been sung more and more frequently; in the new century, people's lives have become more and more rich and diversified, and Chinese art songs have entered a stage of booming development. In the new century, people's lives have become richer and more diversified, and Chinese art songs have entered a stage of vigorous development. Nowadays, when the material standard of living is rising rapidly, it is especially important to improve the national cultural and artistic standard of living.

“The Chinese nation has long emphasized the importance of aesthetic education to human and social development, and Chinese poetry, with its refined language and harmonious syllables, is an art category with extremely high requirements for aesthetics. Entering the new era, Comrade Xi Jinping has clearly proposed to comprehensively strengthen and improve aesthetic education in schools, so that the young generation of our country can grow up healthily both physically and mentally. We should take root in the life of the times, follow the characteristics of aesthetic education, carry forward the spirit of Chinese aesthetic education, and promote aesthetic education to synchronize with the great cause of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Adhering to the concept of “improving the art aesthetics and cognition of contemporary young people, jointly creating a new mode of art inheritance, and promoting the classic heritage of Chinese culture”, we will make contemporary contributions to the construction of “letting China's culture realize real ‘sustainable’ development! To make contemporary contributions to the construction of “let China's culture realize truly ‘sustainable’ development”.