The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), one of the world’s leading orchestras, has completed its 2007 tour of China. The visit, which was sponsored exclusively by Rolls-Royce plc, a world-leading provider of power systems and services, featured performances in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou under the direction of the LSO’s Principal Guest Conductor Daniel Harding.
The concerts included Mahler’s Symphony No 5, Chopin’s First Piano Concerto, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Performances featured internationally acclaimed Lang Lang, who joined the London Symphony Orchestra as piano soloist in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who performed in Beijing, and Shanghai.
|
|
Performance dates were:
- Beijing: April 19 and 20 at the Poly Theatre
- Shanghai: April 22 and 23 at the Shanghai Oriental Concert Hall
- Guangzhou: April 24 at the Xinghai Concert Hall
|
|
This was the LSO’s second visit to China, following a successful tour programme in 2004 in celebration of the Orchestra’s centenary. The 2004 tour was also sponsored by Rolls-Royce.
Outreach program
Rolls-Royce, the LSO and Poly Culture and Arts collaborated to develop a community outreach programme around the tour that included the following components:
- A Master Class for conducting students at the Central Conservatory of Music. Three students were selected to conduct members of the London Symphony Orchestra in one movement of Dvořák's Symphony No 9 with guidance from both Mr. Harding and members of the LSO.
- Complimentary tickets were distributed to local charitable organisations and academic institutions in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. These included charitable organisations In Touch for China, Beijing School for the Blind and Loving Heart Association, as well as British Schools in China.
- Select members of the London Symphony Orchestra also visited the Shanghai campus of Dulwich College to take part in a music workshop with the school's music students.
Commenting on the LSO’s visit at an official welcoming ceremony and press conference, Richard Margolis, regional director for Northeast Asia for Rolls-Royce, said, “We are delighted to bring the LSO to China again and to be working with them and Poly Culture and Arts to make this a successful tour. Both Rolls-Royce and the LSO share a commitment to precision, innovation and excellence, and we are proud to partner with them for this exciting programme in China.”
General Manager Li Nan of Poly Culture and Arts, who organised the tour, added, “We are excited to welcome the London Symphony Orchestra back to China, and are happy to be working with the Orchestra and their sponsor, Rolls-Royce. Enthusiasm for western classical music is growing rapidly in China, and Poly is proud to play a prominent role in bringing the world’s leading musicians to China.”
Kathryn McDowell, managing director of the LSO, said, “We are excited to return to China following our tour in 2004. We are grateful to Rolls-Royce for making this visit possible, and are excited to be working with them and Poly to make this a successful programme. China’s talent pool of musicians and conductors is impressive, and we are happy to provide this opportunity for China’s future performers to witness one of the world’s leading orchestras.” |
|
|
|
Daniel Harding principal guest conductor
Born in Oxford, Daniel Harding began his career assisting Sir Simon Rattle at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, with whom he made his professional debut in 1994. He went on to assist Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic and made his debut with the orchestra at the 1996 Berlin Festival.
In 2003, he became the first Music Director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His previous positions include Principal Conductor of the Trondheim Symphony in Norway (1997-2000), Principal Guest Conductor of Sweden's Norrköping Symphony (1997-2003) and Music Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (1997-2003).
He is a regular visitor to the Dresden Staatskapelle, which he conducted at the 2003 Salzburg Festival; the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala. Other guest conducting engagements have included the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Oslo Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Orchestras and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées. In the U.S. and in Canada he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. He made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2004 conducting Mahler's Symphony No.10 and has since returned to conduct the orchestra at the Vienna Festwochen and on tour to Rome and Salzburg.
His operatic experience includes new productions of 'Così fan tutte' directed by Patrice Chereau, 'Don Giovanni' directed by Peter Brook, 'The Turn of the Screw' directed by Luc Bondy, 'La Traviata' directed by Peter Mussbach and 'Eugene Onegin' directed by Irina Brook, all at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Katie Mitchell's production of 'Jenufa' for Welsh National Opera. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2002 in Deborah Warner's production of 'The Turn of the Screw' and at the Bavarian State Opera in 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail'. In the 2006/07 season he returns to La Scala, Milan, to conduct 'Salome' and will conduct 'Le nozze di Figaro' at the Aix and Salzburg Festivals.
In 2002 he was awarded the title Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.
|
|
