Guests and performers for the New York Philharmonic’s annual Chinese Lunar New Year concert pose for a group photo at Lincoln Center in New York, Feb 20, 2018. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The concert also featured a performance of Beethoven’s grand Choral Fantasy by 13-year-old pianist Serena Wang and the Farmers’ Chorus from Southwest China’s Yunnan province, in their first appearance outside China. The performance by the 50 Chinese farmers moved the audience and won thunderous applause. Later, they performed an excerpt from the light opera, Candide, as an encore.

Before the concert, the organizer of Fantastic Art China presented New Yorkers a show outside Lincoln Center. The performances included traditional Chinese dragon and lion dances by the NaiNi Chen Dance Company and folk dances staged by students from the National Dance Institute.