Programme:
Jiping Zhao: Violin Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major

Ziyang Wen: Golden Face,  1st movement

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Nikolaj Rimski-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35

Founded in 1969, the Chengdu Symphony Orchestra became a professional orchestra with a permanent concert hall and an independent organisational structure in 2021. Under the leadership of conductor and artistic director Feng Yu , orchestra president Ying Xiao and music director Lin Chen , the orchestra has set itself the mission of becoming the principal symphony orchestra in south-western China. A professor at the Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing, Lin Chen is also internationally active as a conductor, having worked with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, as well as with several orchestras in China. The orchestra will be joined by violinist Feng Ning , recognised internationally as an artist of great lyricism, as demonstrated on several recordings for Dutch label Channel Classics. The first part of the programme will consist of works by two contemporary Chinese composers: Jiping Zhao is a prolific composer – and renowned teacher – known principally for his film music. He describes his Violin Concerto No. 1 as being “based on the principles of the Western concerto, with some compositional and aesthetic adaptations to Chinese music.” Golden Face is a piece by the young composer Ziyang Wen , who likewise draws inspiration for his compositions from Chinese culture and nature. The second half of the programme will consist of the eastern-flavoured symphonic suite Scheherazade by the great master of orchestration Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, inspired by stories from the collection of folk tales One Thousand and One Nights.