Time
8 p.m., Feb. 22
Tickets
50-880 yuan
Venue
Shenzhen Concert Hall, 2002 Fuzhong Road 1, Futian District (福田区福中一路2002号深圳音乐厅)
Metro
Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit A
Yu Long to debut with SZSO| Feb. 22
Writer: Li Dan | Editor: Doria Nan | From: Shenzhen Daily
China’s most acclaimed conductor on the world stage Yu Long will debut with Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) in town after the Chinese New Year holiday. Beloved French harpist Xavier de Maistre will collaborate.
Yu Long
For the concert, Yu has chosen to present Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op.74,” a piece from his reserved repertoire. The all-Russian program will also include the prelude of Modest Mussorgsky’s opera “Khovanshchina,” aka “Dawn over the Moscow River,” and Reinhold Gliere’s “Harp Concerto in E-flat Major, Op.74.”
Dealing with an episode in Russian history, “Khovanshchina” was adapted into a movie in 1959. Dmitri Shostakovich adapted Mussorgsky’s score for the movie and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.
A contemporary of Ravel and only two years younger than Rachmaninov, Gliere followed the latter’s musical path, remaining firmly rooted in the styles of techniques he had learned in his youth and never straying from the colorful Russian cosmopolitan style. His harp concerto, redolent of both the Viennese classical style and Russian romantic nationalism, is well received by musicians and audiences for its expressive melodies. The three-movement piece will last about 25 minutes.
Performing the solo part will be de Maistre, a male harpist and undisputed master of the instrument described by Gramophone as a “virtuoso of the highest order.”
De Maistre
De Maistre, born 1973, began to play the harp at 9 and the first competition prizes began to roll in when he was 16. At just age 23, he became the first French musician appointed to the ranks of the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor” is no stranger to music fans. The four-movement piece was the composer’s final completed symphony, and premiered in St. Petersburg in October 1893, nine days before his death.
Better known by its French translation “Pathetique,” the piece is profound and emotional and has had a huge influence on pop culture. Not just adapted into pop songs and appearing in movies like “Anna Karenina” (1997) and “The Aviator” (2004), the piece was also featured during the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, accompanying the performance of Russia’s national ballet company.
Yu, 54, is currently artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 22
Tickets: 50-880 yuan
Scan the QR Code to buy tickets:
Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, 2002 Fuzhong Road 1, Futian District (福田区福中一路2002号深圳音乐厅)
Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit A