The Beijing Symphony Orchestra (above), under the baton of conductor Li Biao, will give a concert to see off the year at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing on Friday.

Over the past two decades, the New Year Concert series, hosted by the Forbidden City Concert Hall, has built up a large fan base in the capital. This year, the series will return with nine concerts between Friday and Jan 15.

Conductor Li Biao and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra will give the opening concert, ending the year of 2021 with classical pieces including Voices of Spring by Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, Jazz Suite No 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich and William Tell Overture by Gioacchino Rossini. On Saturday, they will usher in 2022 with a program featuring uplifting pieces, such as Antonin Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Waltz of the Flowers from the second act of The Nutcracker, a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky.

"It's been a long tradition for the venue to give such a happy concert series. We are really thrilled that we can actually bring it back this year, celebrating the New Year with music in front of a live audience again," says Xu Jian, general manager of the Forbidden City Concert Hall. "The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many concerts being canceled or postponed. Thus, we cherish every concert we can put on now. It's a feeling that is mutual for both the musicians and the audiences."

Tenor Wang Hongwei and cellist Namura will participate in Saturday's concert with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra and Li. The cellist will perform a musical piece adapted from a popular Chinese song, named Hong Yan, which features distinctive Mongolian ethnic musical elements. The version, adapted by composer Jiang Wantong, which will be performed by Namura during the concert, will combine the sounds of clattering horses hooves and vocals from Inner Mongolian singers, who are known for their versatility in singing and dancing. Jiang is also a professor at the China Conservatory of Music.