A donation ceremony was held by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) on Wednesday at the Xian Xinghai Memorial Museum to honour the late Macao composer Xian Xinghai, according to local media reports. Music scores composed by Xian during his time in Kazakhstan and documents related to him were donated to the museum by Baldyrgan Baikadamova, the daughter of Kazakh musician Bakhytzhan Baikadamov.
Baikadamova, who has preserved these items from her father’s friendship with Xian over 80 years ago in Almaty, Kazakhstan, expressed her joy in returning these historical pieces to Xian’s hometown. The works donated include compositions that reflect Kazakh culture and the spirit of resilience during challenging times that have inspired the people of Kazakhstan, said Baikadamova.
Choi Kin Long, acting president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, acknowledged the significance of the donation, praising the friendship forged through music between the two families.
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Following the ceremony, Baikadamova shared stories of her father’s bond with Xian and their experiences during World War II in a seminar with Macao youth.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of China in the war against the Japanese Aggression and the ending of World War II, as well as the 120th anniversary of the birth of Xian Xinghai.
Xian, known as the “People’s Musician,” was born in Macao in 1905 and died in Moscow in 1945. He is best known for his Yellow River Cantata, composed in 1939, which became an anthem of resilience during the Chinese resistance against the Japanese. In the final years of his life, he was unable to return to China from the Soviet Union because of the Second World War. During that time, he composed the symphonic poem Amangeldy, which paid tribute to the Kazakh national hero Amangeldy Imanov.
