The China National Symphony Orchestra has released its schedule for the new performing season in 2022, which will kick off on Saturday in Beijing. CHINA DAILY
China National Symphony Orchestra will kick off its new performance season on Saturday, with a concert under the baton of conductor Li Xincao.
The performance will include Violin Concerto No 1 in G Minor, Op 26, by German composer Max Bruch and Beethoven's Symphony No 9 in D Minor, Op 125, also known as the Choral Symphony.
Soprano Song Yuanming, mezzo-soprano Zhang Yuan, tenor Xue Haoyin and baritone Liu Songhu will perform with the chorus of the China National Symphony Orchestra, bringing the anthem of Ode to Joy.
"Each new performance season shows a professional orchestra's diversity in programming, which is very exciting. This year, we broke the traditional performance season, which usually stretches across two years. From this year, we will make the season an annual program," says conductor Li, who took up the position of president of the China National Symphony Orchestra in August.
Li adds that the change is based on Chinese holidays and the concertgoing habits of Chinese audiences.
"Chinese holidays are different from those in Western countries and Chinese audiences love to bring their children to concerts during winter and summer vacations, so we made some changes to our program to appeal to the schedules of the audiences throughout the year," Li says.
During the new season, the China National Symphony Orchestra will perform with veteran conductors, such as Chen Xieyang, Tan Lihua, Zhang Guoyong and Zhang Yi.
Conductor Zhang Guoyong, who was described as "a great Shostakovich interpreter" by Li, will lead the orchestra to perform two of the Russian composer's pieces during a concert at the National Center for the Performing Arts on April 16: Chamber Symphony in C Minor, Op 110a, an arrangement for string orchestra of his String Quartet No 8 in C Minor, Op 110－which was the first of five orchestral transcriptions of his string quartets by his friend, the violist and conductor Rudolf Barshai－and The Gadfly Suite, which Shostakovich composed for the 1955 film The Gadfly.
Violinist Lyu Siqing is invited to perform with the China National Symphony Orchestra as its resident artist this year. Besides the opening concert, he will perform with the chamber orchestra of the China National Symphony Orchestra in a concert titled Unlimited Challenge－Eight Seasons, on Feb 25 and 26 at Beijing Concert Hall, featuring Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Conductor Li Xincao, who became the president of the China National Symphony Orchestra in August. CHINA DAILY
"We will perform the concerts without a conductor, which will be a testament to the trust and skill of the musicians," Lyu says.
He will also perform a concert paying tribute to Tchaikovsky under the baton of conductor Zhang Yi, performing the composer's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 35 and Manfred Symphony Op 58.
According to Li, each new performance season of the orchestra introduces new musicians and composers to its audiences. This year, conductor and composer Jin Chengzhi will be commissioned to write a new piece for the orchestra, which will be premiered on Nov 12 at Beijing Concert Hall by the chorus of the China National Symphony Orchestra. Jin, born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, learned to play the piano during his childhood and participated in local school choirs. In 2007, he joined a conducting program at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing and learned choral singing and songwriting. A year later, Jin was transferred to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he and some schoolmates founded the Rainbow Chamber Singers in 2010. Now, the group has become one of the best-selling choirs in the country.
According to Jin, the new piece will be named Moments of Life, which will depict the daily lives of ordinary people.
The China National Symphony Orchestra was established in 1956 and was created from the former Central Orchestra.
Four Chinese conductors who worked with the orchestra－Li Delun (1917-2001), Han Zhongjie (1920-2018), Yan Liangkun (1923-2017) and Qiu Li (1926-2008)－are honored with the title of "permanent conductor laureate", paying tribute to the elder-generation Chinese musicians.
"All of these conductors helped and supported the younger generation of Chinese musicians and we want to show our respect to them," says Li Xincao, adding that when he first took the baton as a conductor to perform with the China National Symphony Orchestra after he graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 1994, Li Delun was like a mentor and offered him lots of help.
During the new season, the orchestra will also perform classic Chinese musical works.
On May 15, a concert will be held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, where Chairman Mao Zedong gave a celebrated speech, at the former revolutionary base of Yan'an, Shaanxi province, in 1942. Music programs including The Spring Festival Overture by composer Li Huanzhi, and Yellow River Cantata by composer Xian Xinghai, will be performed by the orchestra and its chorus under the baton of four conductors－Tan Lihua, Li Xincao, Wang Linlin and Lin Daye.
The orchestra will also tour nationwide with more patriotic music works, to celebrate the 1942 forum.
A concert featuring music works by late Chinese composer Zhu Jian'er, who is known for his music pieces such as Sing a Song for the Party, will be staged on Oct 22 at Beijing Concert Hall, marking what would have been his 100th birthday.
