The BBC Symphony Orchestra made a strong return to Shanghai after a two-decade hiatus with a sold-out concert at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on March 18.
The British ensemble played under the baton of chief conductor Sakari Oramo, performing The Welcome Arrival of Rain by contemporary musician Judith Weir, the Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto featuring soloist Bertrand Chamayou, Mendelssohn's The Hebrides Overture, and the Firebird Suite by Stravinsky.
The concert eloquently substantiated director Bill Chandler's claim that the ensemble is capable of interpreting music of any style, and evoked memories of its first visit in 1981, playing in Shanghai's old town hall under the baton of Gennadi Rozhdestvensky.
The concert was also the first production of the 41st Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, one of the longest-running classical music events in China, which debuted in 1959.
While the festival started on Thursday and was scheduled to last until April 12, the organizing committee decided to extend the duration by 22 days to include more outstanding projects.
As the central force of the annual BBC Proms, one of the largest classical music festivals in the world, the BBC Symphony Orchestra has held fast to the mission "to bring music to everyone" since its founding in 1930. The Shanghai festival is also committed to sharing global music with the public.
This year, the festival will feature 68 productions: 59 concerts and nine dance shows with colorful events, such as a mini festival featuring the violin, including concerts, lectures, workshops, and an exhibition of precious instruments.
The opening performance took place at the AIA Grand Theatre on Thursday, with a grand gala concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Long March (1934-36), featuring musicians from all seven provinces that sit along the journey of the Long March. It was jointly performed by the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera House chorus, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music's orchestra and chorus, and the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, conducted by Zhang Guoyong.
