A hypermedia piano concert featuring contemporary Chinese compositions recently made a striking appearance at the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival, offering audiences an immersive audiovisual experience that blended traditional cultural elements with cutting-edge digital media technology.

Photos provided to the People's Daily

Titled "BI-AN: Yu Xiangjun Piano-Hypermedia Recital—Chinese Opera at the Keyboard," the performance was led by pianist Yu Xiangjun and a creative team comprising visual artists, composers and sound engineers. Together, they created a multi-sensory stage environment in which music, imagery and light interacted to form a poetic, immersive soundscape.

As the only concert at this year's festival devoted entirely to contemporary Chinese music, the performance presented works from three generations of Chinese piano composers. Through the use of technologies such as a self-playing piano, virtual instruments and generative media, the program reinterpreted distinctive cultural motifs—including the rhythms and tonalities of Chinese opera, ancient myths, ritual traditions, the spirit of classical literati culture and the expressive aesthetics of traditional calligraphy and painting.

Audience members said they were deeply impressed by the fusion of traditional cultural charm and modern digital innovation. The concert also received high praise from festival organizers and fellow artists.

Following the performance, the festival arranged a special creative dialogue session in which composers from the BI-AN team engaged with young composers from Hong Kong. The discussion explored topics such as cultural heritage in music creation, contemporary social concerns and the impact of evolving technologies on artistic expression.