An evening of exoticism

Local music fans are in for a treat this Friday evening, as the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) will perform an evening of imaginative and colorful tunes making up one set of the programs for their British tour between March 11 and 22. The orchestra's artistic director Lin Daye will conduct.

Lin Daye

Friday's program will include excerpts from Chinese composer Tan Dun's “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Ernest Chausson's “Poème for Solo Violin and Orchestra,” Camille Saint-Saëns' “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28,” and two of Ottorino Respighi's “Roman Trilogy.”

Nie Jiapeng

Nie Jiapeng, a faculty member at Guangzhou's Xinghai Conservatory of Music and CUHK-Shenzhen's School of Music, will be the solo cellist to bring out the nuance of Chinese aesthetics and drama in Tan's best-known piece. Tutored by Qin Liwei at the National University of Singapore — Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and then by Arto Noras at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater, Nie was praised by the composer himself as one of the best interpreters of his work. The young talent will perform three out of six short movements from the cello concerto recomposed from the original Oscar-winning film score, which perfectly blends lyricism and drama.

Chausson's “Poème for Solo Violin and Orchestra,” composed in 1896 when the composer was 41, is a mature representative of his dramatic and richly chromatic style, with a certain reserve that is an enduring feature of French taste.

Saint-Saëns' beloved “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” is a staple of the concert repertoire. The composer, who always cherished a fascination for Spanish music, composed the piece in 1863 for the violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who in turn was instrumental in establishing the work's popularity. It was so popular that both Bizet and Debussy crafted their own arrangements of the work.

Qian Zhiyuan

Qian Zhiyuan, 14, who won first prize last year at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Russia, will play the violin solo in these two works.

In the second half of the concert, the orchestra will perform Respighi's tone poems “Fountains of Rome” (1916) and “Pines of Rome” (1924).

Respighi's “Roman Trilogy” holds a very special place in the orchestral repertory, challenging almost any other composition for sonic appeal. Spectacular scenes such as Trevi Fountain in the glitter of the midday sun, children playing under the pine trees of the Villa Borghese, or gladiators fighting at Circus Maximus provided the masterly orchestrator with the opportunity to employ the full palette of the large-scale symphony orchestra, to which he added various other instruments, including organ, piano, mandolin, and tambourines. As a result, these works glitter, shimmer, blare and thunder — a true feast for the ear.

Time: 8 p.m., March 8

Tickets: 50-880 yuan

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

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