SZSO to wrap up 1st UK tour

This evening local time, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO), led by its artistic director Lin Daye, will perform the final note of their eight-concert tour around the United Kingdom at Croydon Fairfield Halls, bidding farewell to the appreciative British audiences.

The debut tour, which started March 11 in Birmingham, has not only spotlighted the Shenzhen orchestra on Britain’s classical music scene for the first time but also helped foster goodwill and strengthen the bond between the Chinese and British peoples.

A Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) concert in London, which was well received by local audiences. Photos courtesy of SZSO

Over 100 musicians have performed in the tour, presenting two sets of impressive programs that encompass both contemporary and classical pieces. The concerts in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Basingstoke included 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 pieces from Ottorino Respighi’s “Roman Trilogy.” For the remaining three shows in Sheffield, Perth, and Croydon, the second half of the program has been replaced with Mahler’s monumental “Symphony No. 1 in D Major,” also known as “Titan.”

The concerts headline Chinese cellist Nie Jiapeng and British violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen.

Cellist Nie Jiapeng (center front row) is seen during a performance in the United Kingdom.

“Nie played the solo part with great charm, especially during those quieter moments where his mournful glissandi echoed the erhu, the traditional bowed string instrument for which the work was originally scored,” commented a classical music fan who attended the concert in Sheffield.

On the evening of March 13, the audience at London’s Cadogan Hall, numbering a little over 900, immediately gave the touring orchestra a standing ovation after the final note of Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.”

“London, as one of the leading global metropolises and cultural capitals, holds an audience with a sophisticated taste for music, both classical and pop,” said Lin after the concert. “Approval from this audience means a great deal to me. Our hard work has been rewarded with their warm applause.”

British violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen.

Sitting among the audience were many professionals from the music industry, including James Williams, managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who will lead his orchestra on a tour of China in the summer.

“The stage of Cadogan Hall was the home turf of the Shenzhen orchestra this evening, and they have given us an extraordinary performance,” he said.

On the afternoon of March 17, the SZSO met the audience at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, a city that has been a sister city to Shenzhen for five years. To honor the special bond between the two cities, a short video, especially recorded by Shenzhen’s mayor, Qin Weizhong, prior to the tour, was played to send his greetings to the music fans of Edinburgh.

Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra artistic director Lin Daye.

Robert Aldridge, Qin’s counterpart in Edinburgh, who attended the show, praised the concert as a “top-class performance, with incredible soloists and an overall high-caliber delivery from the orchestra as well.” He added that cultural exchanges are key to building partnerships and anticipates more visits and events between the two cities in the future.