On the evening of April 4, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra gave the first performance of the 2014 spring music season at Renmin University of China. The concert, held in Rulun Lecture Hall, had the theme ‘Accessing Masters, Experiencing Classics, Cultivating Sentiment, Enhancing Accomplishment’. The music season enriches the cultural life of the campus, and helps cultivate the students’ ability to appreciate art. The concert formed part of BSO’s concert series ‘Taking Classical Music to Campus’. MaestroTan Lihua, the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, was conducting. The soloist was the concert master, violinist Liang Danan. During the first half of the concert, the BSO performed six masterpieces of different forms and style: ‘The Queen of Spades’ by Suppe, ‘Voices of Spring Waltz’ by John Strauss, ‘Hungarian Dances No. 5’ by Brahms, ‘Rustic Chivalry’ by Pietro Mascagni, ‘The Blacksmith Polka’ by Joseph Strauss, and ‘Dances of the Yao Nationality’ by Liu Tieshan and Mao Huan. Tan Lihua gave a brief introduction before each piece of the performance, to help students learn more about classical music as well as the masterpieces themselves. Tan Lihua said: ‘The six masterpieces represent six different music forms. I hope that audiences who were not familiar with the symphony before can build a basic understanding of symphonic music through the first half of the concert. More importantly, I hope that we can break preconceived notions about classical music. Classical music not only can be serious, but also can be accessible and amiable.’ With the base of the first half, Beijing Symphony Orchestra chose to perform the Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World’. ‘This masterpiece consists of four movements of different style, with a strong sense of rhythm and image. It can be easily understood, but also has profound meaning. Audiences can understand the symphony very well after the vivid explanation and description by the conductor, even if they were unfamiliar with it before.’ The BSO will hold nearly fifty concerts named ‘Taking Classical Music to Campus’ in 2014. They will also keep giving annual performances with low-price tickets in Forbidden City Concert Hall, as well as organizing grassroots performances. Tan Lihua said: ‘Our music season will enlarge the scale of public performances. We will do our best to hold widespread concerts that offer more access to students and ordinary people, attracting and accumulating more and more audiences for our orchestra and for Chinese symphony.’