This Week from China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts

Beethoven, XU Changjun, Wagner, Johann Straus, ZHANG Qianyi

This week, we’ll hear Beethoven’s famed Symphony No. 9 “Choral”, the thunderous rhythms of XU Changjun’s Dragon Dance, Wagner’s Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin, Johann Strauss’s Frühlingsstimmen, and the song “Silhouettes of Angels” written in dedication to the frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

WANG Yunfei, Strauss II, Qigang Chen, Beethoven, Schubert, and ZHANG Qianyi

This week, we’ll hear WANG Yunfei’s Spring Flowers and Autumn Fruits, Franz Schubert’s brilliant Symphony No. 9, Strauss Jr’s hypnotic By the Beautiful Blue Danube, Qigang Chen’s colourful work Jiang Tcheng Tse, Beethoven’s Overture to the Ruins of Athens, and ZHANG Qianyi’s Overture “My Homeland”.

Glazunov, ZHAO Jiping, Beethoven, Brahms, FANG Kejie, and Strauss Jr.

This week, we’ll hear piano virtuoso Lang Lang perform with the NCPA Orchestra in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. We’ll also hear Glazunov’s charming Concert Waltz No. 1, Brahms’ Song of Destiny and Chinese composer ZHAO Jiping’s fascinating Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with NING Feng.

Bach, Beethoven, HE Zhanhao, CHEN Gang, Verdi, Julian Yu, and Strauss Jr.

On our programme this week, we’ll hear HE Zhanhao and CHEN Gang’s moving Violin Concerto: The Butterfly Lovers, featuring soloist Siqing Lu; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1; Saito Hideo’s orchestral arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Chaconne in D minor; Julian Yu’s Concerto on Chinese Themes; and we’ll end our programme with music from some of Giuseppe Verdi’s most famous operas.

Beethoven, ZHAO Jiping, Debussy, and SHI Guangnan

On our programme this week, we’ll hear Beethoven’s magnificent incidental music for Egmont, ZHAO Jiping’s Cello Concerto, “The Disillusioned Dream” featuring cellist Li-Wei Qin, Debussy‘s impressionistic La mer, and a rousing choral and orchestral arrangement of SHI Guangnan’s song, In the Hopeful Field.