Beijing

Key player takes stage

Belgian pianist Peter Ritzen will present an interactive concert in the capital during the 2011 Meet in Beijing event.

The master will give improvisational performances using simple notes provided by audience members who win the lucky draw. The musician will also include Liszt's piano pieces to honor the 200th anniversary of the master's birth.

Ritzen is globally acclaimed for his romantic musical style. He infuses his music with pop elements.

7:30 pm, May 6. Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang district. 010-6500-1188

Ode to Rachmaninoff

The China Philharmonic Orchestra will stage a concert of Rachmaninoff's symphonic and etude works under Shi Shucheng's baton. Shi will also debut his piano concerto adapted from Rachmaninoff's Suite No 2 for Two Pianos. Shi is celebrated for co-writing the piano concerto Yellow River. Pianist Ju Jin (pictured) will lead the concert.

7:30 pm, May 7. Forbidden City Concert Hall in Zhongshan Park, northwest of Tian'anmen Square. 010-6559-8285

Multimedia suite

Opera star Wan Shanhong will lead a concert of the multimedia symphonic suite, Mountains of Red Plums in Praise of Sister Jiang, at the Great Hall of the People, along with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tan Lihua.

The symphonic suite of seven passages is adapted from Hongyan (Red Crag), a popular revolutionary novel of 1964.

Its solo version by Wan debuted in 2002 and was well received. The concert promises to deliver something new with the performers experimenting in terms of their stage presence and singing techniques.

7:30 pm, May 7. Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square. 010-6406-8888

Charity art sale

The Smile Angel Charity Foundation has teamed up with scores of Chinese and international artists and local galleries to stage a joint art show and charity sale to raise funds for Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami victims.

Love and Hope opened at the Iberia Art Center in Beijing's 798 Art Zone on May 5 and will run until May 15, when all exhibits will go under the hammer.

10 am-6 pm, until May 15 except Mondays. E06, 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang district. 010-5978 -9530/1

http://www.loveandhope.so

Memorial show

An art show at the Cafa Art Museum will commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Wang Shikuo (1911-1973), a pioneering artist and educator who became a leading figure of Socialist Realism in New China.

On show are more than 700 oil works, sketches and documents, chronicling Wang's career since the 1930s. They reflect the dramatic social changes China faced in the past century.

Books and catalogs will be released, the Wang Shikuo Scholarship will be established to support art majors' studies abroad and a symposium on Wang's achievements will be held.

10 am-5 pm, until June 5. Cafa Art Museum, 8 Huajiadi Nanjie, Chaoyang district. 010-6477-1575

Shanghai

Independent style

Cheer Chen, the singer and songwriter from Taiwan is on tour to promote her new album The Summer Etude. Chen has won popularity among young audiences with her original music, personal style and independent attitude.

7:30 pm, May 14. Mercedes-Benz Arena, 1200 Expo Avenue. 021-6217-2426

Waiting for murder

A Murder Is Announced, the Chinese version of Agatha Christie's play, is taking to the stage. A post on the local tabloid breaks the peaceful country routine. It says a murder will be committed in a local household. A curious crowd comes to the designated house at 6:30 pm, waiting for the murder to happen.

7:30 pm, May 9-15. Shanghai Grand Stage, 300 Renmin Avenue. 021-6386-8686

Realistic oil paintings

He Duoling's most acclaimed paintings from the past years will be exhibited along with his new works at Shanghai Art Museum. Born in Chengdu of Sichuan province in 1948, He is a representative figure of Chinese contemporary realistic oil painting. The exhibition will travel to other major museums in China after May 18.

9 am-5 pm, May 8-18. Shanghai Art Museum, 325 Nanjing Road W

021-6327-2829

China Daily