Celebrating China's diverse and vibrant culture, a storied concert hall will hold a 21-day citywide festival, entitled "Ancient Paths," "Modern Voices," which features performances by renowned international musicians, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianists Lang Lang and Li Yundi, as well as folk Chinese artists.

On October 21, Carnegie Hall will launch the festival with the Quanzhou Marionette Theater, a leading performer of this ancient tradition from Fujian province.

For the first time, 29 local rural Chinese artists will present authentic traditional folk music on October 23 and 25 at Carnegie Hall, in Manhattan.

Put together by Wu Man, the two traditional music programs - "Taste of China and Ancient Spirits" - include Daoist ritual music (the Li Family Daoist Band), shadow puppetry (the Zhang Family Band), Chinese percussion (Ba Da Chui), and the Qin and Dong Minority Singers.

Wu is a virtuoso of the pipa, a traditional Chinese four-stringed plucked instrument.

"It will be a rare experience for audiences in the West to watch such performances by these Chinese folk musicians," said Wu, the curator of and performer in these two programs. Wu said she took two years to produce the project.

"Some of the folk musicians have never traveled out of their villages in China, not even to Beijing," Wu said. "So you can imagine what it is like for them to perform on such an international stage."

Lang will perform three concerts on October 27, 28 and November 10. The October 28 performance will include the premiere of Er Huang, a piano concerto by Chen Qigang. Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Juilliard Orchestra will accompany Lang on that date.

"I was very excited when I first got to know about Carnegie Hall's plan to hold a China Festival," said Lang, who was invited to join the festival board two years ago. "Every aspect of music in China, including the music education, has seen great improvement. Millions of children are learning piano, violin and other instruments."

Lang said he invited both "established musicians and the young unknown talents to share their music with the American audience."

"I believe the festival is really a platform, a bridge between the West and East," he added.

The festival will include various genres of music, ranging from Western symphonic and chamber music influenced by Chinese culture, to Chinese traditional folk music and contemporary music.

It will include premieres of works by internationally recognized Chinese composers Tan Dun and Angel Lam, among others.

Carnegie Hall is expecting both its regular patrons and first-timers, particularly Chinese-Americans, will revel in the musical feast.

However, event organizers were forced to pare back because of the recession, as the number of concerts was reduced by 10 percent from last year's event. That translates to 180 performances this year, compared to 200 in 2008, said Matt Carlson, assistant director of public affairs at Carnegie Hall.

"We don't share exact ticket sales figures, but we can say that sales for the festival are going well and we have many people who are interested in these performances," Carlson said.

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