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Art beat in November

( China Daily ) Updated: 2013-10-25 11:24:25

Second Hunger Games film satisfies fans' appetite

For fans of The Hunger Games books who found the first film adaptation of the trilogy fell short of their expectations, the second installment should be more satisfactory. Francis Lawrence, director of I am Legend, replaces Gary Ross to direct Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in the fast-paced drama. Lawrence's performance is a standout, with the Academy Award winner bringing emotional depth and adding a complexity to her character. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire premiered in China on Nov 21, with regular and IMAX versions.

Conservationist gives lecture

Hsu Jen-shiu, a photographer, writer and educator on the beauty of nature, will talk about his 67-yearlong relationship with nature at a lecture in Guangzhou on Saturday. The ardent advocator of wilderness protection from Taiwan, better known as Silencio, was the first person to call for protection of the wilderness in Taiwan in the 1960s after witnessing how rapidly the local eco-system was being destroyed by modernization. He has traveled around the world, venturing into the wilds of Southeast Asia, North America and Oceania, on field trips and has published more than 40 books. He founded the Society of Wilderness in 1995, an organization devoted to nature preservation.

3 pm, Nov 23. EMGART, C5, Redtory, 128 Yuancun Siheng Lu, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3878-5650.

Mozart's muses play maestro's music

[Photo/China Daily]

Chamber music lovers will have the chance to listen to the Salzburg Mozarteum Quartet play the piece Mozart wrote for the quartet. The group has been called the Mozarteum Quartet since 1955 but the current group, directed by concertmaster Markus Tomasi, has tried to shake themselves free from the weighty, sometimes irksome association with the tradition behind the name. Aside from the Mozart String Quartet in D Major, they will play Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E Flat Major and Dvorak's String Quartet in F Major "American".

7:30 pm Nov 24. National Center for the Performing Arts, West of Tian'anmen Square, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.

Anniversary celebration

Fangsuo Commune, where people can read a book, sip a cup of coffee and listen to inspiring lectures by experts in a variety of fields, has grown into a cultural landmark in Guangzhou since its establishment two years ago. Fangsuo's founders - Mao Jihong, co-founder of fashion brand Exception, and Liao Meili, co-founder of Eslite Bookstore in Taiwan - will attend the anniversary celebration on Nov 25. Guests include movie director Jia Zhangke and actress Zhao Tao. The commune will host four lectures between Saturday and Nov 29, on the theme of "home" from art, literature and design perspectives.

7:30 pm-10 pm, Nov 25. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

Remembering Cao on stage

Original Chinese musical Cao Xueqin will be staged in Beijing to commemorate the great writer from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who wrote the fourth and final of China's four classic novels, A Dream of Red Mansions. The musical will chronicle Cao's life story. Born into a noble family in Nanjing, Cao finally settled in Beijing after his family's decline. During his life in Beijing, he finished the novel. The musical will also portray how Cao wrote the novel in his late years.

7:30 pm, Nov 26. Oriental Theater, No 11, Chaoyang Beidajie, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.