SOULFUL SYMPHONY
GOES LIVE AGAIN IN SUZHOU
After a four-month COVID-19 interruption, famous orchestra returns with the promise of a stirring new season, Chen Nan reports.
TIt allowed me to better understand the ancient art form, and offered audiences a sense of freshness with regard to Kunqu Opera and classical music.” Jessica Fotinos, principal harpist of the orchestra
hunderous applause reverberated through the packed Jinji Lake Concert Hall in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on July 15 as 83-yearold Chen Xieyang conducted a performance by gifted musicians with a broad range of repertoire and stylistic diversity.
It was not just a harmonious evening to mark the 95th anniversary of the inception of the People’s Liberation Army, but also one to announce the much-awaited return of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra’s regular live shows, which were suspended since February in the wake of the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic.
The almost magical concert, with which the venue reopened, featured some classics, including Ding Shande’s five-movement musical Long March Symphony, the symphonic poem August First co-composed by Liu Fu’an, Bian Zushan, Ma Youdao and Cheng Shouchang, and the piano-orchestra piece Oriental Skyline composed by Huang Kairan.
“Like our audiences, we too missed performing at the concert hall. Rehearsing and doing live shows at this venue have been part and parcel of our lives for a long time. It has an incredible sentimental value,” says conductor Chen, who is also the music director of Suzhou Symphony Orchestra. To make the occasion extra special, the seventh performing season of the orchestra was announced the same night. The new season, which will run till next August, will comprise 58 concerts of various forms
— from a full-sized orchestra to chamber music by different groups of musicians. It will cover compositions of 60-plus international legends such as Italy’s Gioachino Rossini and Giacomo Puccini, and France’s Charles Camille Saint-Saens.
Chen Guangxian, the co-founder of the troupe, says during the new season, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra will perform music pieces that are rarely staged in China. The list includes Transfigured Night, the string sextet composed by Arnold Schoenberg during his younger days. It is a romantic piece based on a poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel.
The list of rare pieces also includes Frozen in Time, a concerto for percussion and orchestra composed by Avner Dorman and Wu Xing, and Five Elements, a five-movement suite composed by Chen Qigang, portraying the traditional Chinese elements of water, wood, fire, earth and metal.
Eight Chinese conductors — Li Xincao and Zhang Yi among them — and nearly 30 solo singers, including tenor Shi Yijie, will join the concerts. A group of young Chinese musicians, all born after 1990, will be featured during the new season. Pianist Luo Wei and cellist Luo Weixi are among them.
Concerts marking historic events, such as the 40th anniversary of the country’s reform and opening-up (2023) and the 25th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland (2024), will be held.
“The pandemic has heavily affected the performing arts scene worldwide. While live concerts were put on hold, we worked to bring our musicians back through virtual concerts,” says Chen Guangxian.
Founded in 2016, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra is one of the youngest and most dynamic orchestras in China. It boasts musicians from 18 countries and regions across four continents.
Chen Guangxian, who is also the director of the nonprofit China’s Symphony Development Foundation and the former head of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, built the troupe from scratch.
“People from different nationalities and backgrounds were united by music in Suzhou. We were very excited to bring them together,” recalls Chen Guangxian. “We are proud to witness the orchestra’s rapid and smooth growth.”
Suzhou has a rich history of old art forms. Pingtan,a singing and storytelling routine that dates back 400 years, and Kunqu Opera, which is more than 600 years old, are among them. The orchestra is keen on widening its repertoire by combining western classics and folk music genres.
On the night of July 9, Kunqu Opera performers and a harp quintet from Suzhou Symphony Orchestra played the classic piece The Peony Pavilion. It was the first crossover show between ancient opera and classical music.
“It allowed me to better understand the ancient art form, and offered audiences a sense of freshness with regard to Kunqu Opera and classical music,” says Australian Jessica Fotinos, who is the principal harpist of the orchestra and has listened to the opera when she was a student back home.