Concert hall embraces weekend concerts

This weekend and next, Shenzhen Concert Hall has prepared three distinct shows for fans, bringing the best of Chinese music and classical tunes by Western composers.

China chic music

Zhang Weiliang, a master player of bamboo flute, xiao (a vertical Chinese flute) and xun (Chinese vessel flute), is an iconic figure in the renewal of Chinese music. He worked with composers including Guo Wenjing, Chen Qigang and Joel Hoffman to create pieces that popularized Chinese instruments among the young. Perhaps he is best known for performing at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Zhang Weiliang. Photos courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall

For Saturday’s concert, he will perform alongside guqin (Chinese plucked string instrument) player Cheng Hongyu, bamboo flutist Li Zhihan and pianist Jin Yuejiao. The program will not only include familiar tunes such as “Song of Chu” and “Plum Blossom Melodies,” but also feature unique pieces such as “Encounter,” imbued with jazz music vibes.

Zhang will also give a free lecture at the concert hall Sunday afternoon.

Tickets: 80-480 yuan

Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 14, Saturday

On top of the strings

Russian violinist Vadim Repin will perform three classical violin sonatas for the local audience this Sunday. The program will include the poetic “Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Piano” by Debussy, Grieg’s “Violin Sonata No. 3,” and Franck’s “Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano,” a piece oozing with elegance and personal touches.

Vadim Repin

Repin, born in 1971, won all categories of the Wienawski competition at 11 and debuted in concert halls across the world soon after. At 17 he was the youngest winner of the Reine Elisabeth Concours, which launched his collaboration with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors.

His well-received recordings cover not only the great Russian violin concertos by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, but also the concertos and sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg and Franck, in collaboration with such legendary pianists as Martha Argerich and cellists Mischa Maisky. He plays a Niccolo Amati violin dated 1664.

Svetlana Smolina, a Grand Prix Winner of the Citta Di Senigallia International Piano Competition and a sought-after pianist who has collaborated with orchestras including the Mariinsky Orchestra, will accompany Repin at the show.

Tickets: 80-580 yuan

Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 15, Sunday

Wang Zhongshan and his band

Wang Zhongshan, virtuoso and educationist of zheng (Chinese board zither) music, will perform a collection of classical Chinese pieces and some of his own compositions for audiences next Saturday.

Wang Zhongshan

He invented complicated new fingering techniques of zheng playing including rolling, plucking with finger-plectrums on both hands, and left-hand rolling. In his hands, the zheng has become a more expressive and challenging instrument to perform. He also adapted and created new works, merging Western music and folk music elements.

Flutist Huang Jiaqing, pianist Ji Lu and percussionist Zheng Yu will collaborate at the show. Audiences will hear different styles of zheng music, imbued with distinctive folk music elements including Hakka songs, Yuju opera and Chaozhou music.

Tickets:180-880 yuan

Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 21, Saturday

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (福田区深圳音乐厅)

Metro: Lines 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D