Free weekend concerts at Shenzhen Concert Hall this December

This December, Shenzhen Concert Hall is presenting five shows with performances on the organ, cello, harp and the piano as well as on Chinese instruments.

Photos courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall

On Dec. 3, Hong Kong pipe organist Chiu Siu-ling and her son Eric Fan, a young talent, will give a free concert. The program will include the soundtracks of movies “Interstellar,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Titanic,” “Castle in the Sky,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Me and My Motherland.” Audience members will also hear Charles-Marie Widor’s majestic “Organ Symphony No. 5.” Chiu was an organ lecturer at the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University. She majored in organ and voice at the State University of New York (SUNY). She also has a Ph.D. degree for organ performance from the American Conservatory of Music. Fan holds a world record for performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” in just 73 seconds, and is best known for his extraordinary pedal technique.

On Dec. 10, members of Shenzhen Cellists Association will perform a concert in the forms of duet, quartet and octet. Led by Zhang Yihao, associate professor with Shenzhen Arts School (SAS), cellists including Wu Hao, Luo Zhuowen and Zhou Ying will perform such fan favorites as Elgar’s “Salut d’Amour,” “Waltz No. 2” by Shostakovich, the second movement of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7,” Tchaikovsky’s “Andante Cantabile,” and the interlude of Bizet’s “Carmen Suites.” Scores from familiar movies and shows including “Game of Thrones” and “Cinema Paradiso” will also be performed. Joining the cellists are members of Hallo Cello, an SAS student band.

On Christmas Eve, Andreas Weber, piano professor at the University Mozarteum, Salzburg, will give a lecture and concert alongside two young talents, taking audience members on a tour through the piano works of Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and explaining the various styles of different times. Putting music in the perspective of their eras and backgrounds will give listeners a better understanding of classical music.

For the Afternoon Music Time series, one concert will feature four young harpists in solo, duet and quartet on the afternoon of Dec. 16; while the other on Dec. 23 will showcase the talents of Yulong Chinese music ensemble from Longhua District. The former will bring the works of Bach, John Thomas, Tchaikovsky and Offenbach, while the latter will perform beloved Chinese classics and folk music pieces.

Admission is free but tickets are required. Those interested can apply via the WeChat account of Shenzhen Concert Hall (ID: szyinyuet).

Time: 3 p.m., Dec. 3, 10, 16, 23, 24

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

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