Feature: Commemorative concert marks end of WWII at UN headquarters

With delicate yet powerful music rising and flowing, the audience at the United Nations headquarters savored the performance by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to mark the end of World War II (WWII).

The event, titled "Concert in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the United Nations and the End of the Second World War," was performed at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations headquarters in New York Friday night.

The overture of the symphony "Shanghai 1937" premiered at the concert, which was composed especially for the event.

According to its composer Zou Ye, the overture is about the heroic and brave spirit of the Chinese army in a deadly battle, the second Songhu Battle, which took place in China's metropolis Shanghai in 1937, the same year that Japan began its full-scale invasion in China.

"Shanghai 1937" showcases the enormous sacrifices that the Chinese people made in fighting the fascist Japan during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, said Zhou Ping, president of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

"The idea of composing such a musical score came to me about two years ago and it took me four months to compose it," said Zou Ye.

"It is a great honor for me to have my score premiered here at the United Nations headquarters to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its founding and the end of WWII," said Zou Ye.

Besides Chinese musicians, artists from other countries also performed in the concert.

"We invited many renowned artists to join us in the concert, such as violinist Maxim Vengerov," said Zhou, adding that there are musicians from Russia, France and the United States in the commemorative concert.

The concert, organized by the Permanent Mission of China to the U.N., also includes John Williams' score "Schindler's List", the soundtrack in the famous film about a German businessman who saved the lives of over a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.

WWII was a dark page in human history, which has brought untold sorrow to Asia, Europe, Africa and many other regions and wreaked unprecedented havoc on human civilization, said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the U.N., addressing the audience before the concert.

"If a parallel is drawn between the Second World War and a symphony about light and darkness, the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important and heroic movement of that symphony," said Liu.

"In the main theater in the East, the Chinese people fought for 14 long and hard years to defeat Japanese militarists, thus making an indelible contribution to Allied efforts in other theaters and the final victory of the World Anti-Fascist War," he said.

Liu pointed out that the post-war world order and the purposes and principles of the U.N. charter form the bedrock for peace and stability in today's world and the best commemoration is to reaffirm our commitment to what the U.N. stands for.

"We should build on this and foster a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, and realize the vision set forth by the Charter," Liu said.

By the end of WWII, more than 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded. The defeat of the invaders was a turning point for China after more than a century of humiliation by foreign powers.

"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy," Liu cited Ludwig van Beethoven to conclude his opening remarks.

"This evening, musicians from different countries will bring such revelation with music composed in honor of peace. While enjoying these classics, let us dedicate ourselves to making the U.N. stronger and our collective future brighter," said Liu. Endi