Published on: 2026-10-31
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Zhengzhou, October 30 /Xinhua/ — On the evening of October 17, a concert was held at the Grand Theater of the Henan Provincial Arts Center /Central China/ dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the victory in the Great March of the Chinese Red Army. The “Zhising” Symphony Orchestra of the Henan Vocational College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering performed the famous suite “The Great March” here.
Russian Alexander Kostrikin, the first violin of the orchestra, performed the musical piece with a calm expression on his face, his shoulders gently rising and falling to the rhythm of the music. Enjoying the musicians’ performances, the concert guests were completely immersed in this majestic story.
From October 1934 to October 1936, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army undertook the Long March, which shook the world and went down in history. During the Long March, the Red Army soldiers traversed the territory of more than 10 provinces, covering a distance of 12,500 km. This event marked the complete failure of the Kuomintang reactionaries’ attempts to destroy the CPC and the Red Army, as well as the successful strategic relocation to the north to resist the Japanese invaders.
The choral suite “The Great March” /or “The Red Army Is Not Afraid of the Difficulties of the Roads”/ is the result of collective creativity of composers in the mid-1960s. This work, which consists of ten parts, is widely known both in the country and abroad.
Yekaterinburg native A. Kostrykin became passionate about music when he was six years old. Later, he became an heir to the Russian violin school founded by Leopold Auer. In September 2023, he started working at the Henan Vocational College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, where he took the position of violin teacher and head of the string instruments department.
“The performer needs to familiarize themselves with the historical context of the piece in order to understand it correctly,” the musician shared in a conversation with a correspondent from the Xinhua agency. In this regard, A. Kostrikin specifically studied the history of the Long March and acquainted himself with the context of the creation of the choral suite of the same name.
The song “Farewell”—the first in the suite “The Great March,” according to A. Kostrykin—is somewhat similar to the folk song “Katyusha.” If “Katyusha” places the main emphasis on the feelings of the person waiting and their faithful hopes, then in “Farewell,” personal joys and sorrows, meetings and partings, become part of a grand historical narrative, the musician continued.
According to the Russian musician, the most impressive and touching part of the suite is the final section of the suite “The Great Union.”
“It seems that this part clearly reveals the essence of the spirit of the Great March. Even in the face of many difficulties and dangers, if people pursue a common goal, are firm in their beliefs, and united, they are capable of moving forward boldly. For me, this is not only a profound historical lesson but also an amazing artistic experience,” he said.
Music, it is said, serves as a bridge for communication among people from different countries around the world. The suite “The Great March” and other similar works are capable of strengthening mutual understanding between the peoples of Russia and China, A. Kostrikin was convinced.
The musician announced that he plans to follow the route of the Great March to gain a deeper understanding of the spiritual heritage embedded in this great event.
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