Pomp, youth and tradition to the fore

The China Philharmonic Orchestra has put together an ambitious set of programs for its 2022-23 season that showcases the orchestra's virtuosity and versatility through new and iconic works.

The season, whose programs were unveiled by the music director Yu Long in Beijing on Monday, will open on Aug 28 with a concert that Yu will conduct. It will feature works by English composer Sir Edward Elgar, including Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op 85, for Viola and Enigma Variations, Op 36.

The concert will be held at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. One of its highlights will be Mei Diyang, who is the first Chinese musician to hold the position of first principal viola at the Berliner Philharmoniker. It will be his first appearance in his home country since he took the position this year.

Mei was invited to perform with the China Philharmonic Orchestra during its two previous seasons, but the pandemic put paid to those plans. That makes Mei's coming performance with the orchestra all the more anticipated.

During the new season, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will pay tribute to two other composers.

On Feb 26, pianist Zuo Zhang will perform with the orchestra in a concert at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff's The Rock, Op 7, Piano Concerto No 1 in F Sharp Minor, Op 1 and Symphony No 1, Op 13, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Russian composer's birth. The concert will be conducted by Russian Vassily Sinaisky.

On April 15, a concert will be held in the Forbidden City Concert Hall, also with works by Rachmaninoff, including Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor, Op 18 and Symphony No 3 in A Minor, Op 44. Pianist Zhang Haotian will perform during the concert, under the baton of Latvian Andris Poga.

A concert marking the 190th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Brahms will be held on April 22 at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, under the baton of Yuan Ding, featuring the German composer's Tragic Overture, Op 81, Violin Concerto, Op 77 and Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op 73. Violinist Su Qianxun will be featured.

"This is the third season of the China Philharmonic Orchestra after the pandemic broke out in early 2020, which is still very challenging and difficult," Yu says.

The orchestra had organized concerts for the previous two seasons that had to be canceled because of the pandemic, he says.

"As a cultural institution, it's our job to present a diverse repertoire and exciting artistic collaborations to audiences."

On Sept 24, the BMF Festival Orchestra will perform under the baton of Yu with a concert featuring a new symphonic poem, Qian Li Jiang Shan, by composer Zhao Lin. The new musical interpretation of the painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) premiered in Shanghai in July, featuring the China Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Sun Yifan. It later performed in cities, including Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Shenyang, Liaoning province, and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The coming concert will open the 25th Beijing Music Festival with a star-studded lineup, including the pipa (plucked four-stringed instrument) player Zhao Cong, the sheng (reed wind instrument) player Wu Tong, the erhu (plucked two-stringed instrument) player Lu Yiwen, pianist He Ming and soprano Lei Jia.

The Joy of Suffering: A Homage to the Art of Qigang Chen, a concert conducted by Huang Yi, will be held at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on Nov 20, with works by Chen, one of the most important composers working with the China Philharmonic Orchestra. The composer's works, including L' Eloignement, Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra Joie Eternelle and Poeme Lyrique II, will be performed. Chen's La joie de la souffrance, written for violin and orchestra, will be adapted into a version for erhu and orchestra and will be performed during the concert by erhu player Lu.

"When we review the history of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, performing works by Chinese composers has been our mission," Yu says. "Since the orchestra has won an international reputation with its unique sound, we are keen to display works by Chinese composers when we perform abroad, and that builds up a musical dialogue."

The orchestra is not only devoted to performing new works but is also proud of its long-standing commitment to introduce young Chinese musicians, he says.

The new season will bring collaboration with young musicians, including trumpeter Yang Xunji, pianist An Tianxu and cellist Chen Yibai. Born in 2001, Chen Yibai won second prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium in June.

"In 2020, when the orchestra celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding, we invited musicians born in 2000 to perform with us,"Yu says. "They were born in the year the orchestra was founded and have grown into professional musicians, performing worldwide. It was a very touching moment when we performed together."