The National Center for the Performing Arts May Music Festival has accompanied Beijing audiences for fourteen years and has become an annual cultural feast for the people of the capital. Riding on the warm breeze of May, the annual May Music Festival will meet the broad audience again. With the theme of "Joy to the Future", this May Music Festival will be held at the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Beijing Art Center from May 1st to 25th. 24 concerts will focus on the colorful scene of chamber music. .
This May Music Festival continues to strengthen the artistic label of "famous artists and famous groups" and recreates the May event of "fighting of gods". Among them, Lu Siqing, artistic director of the May Music Festival, Cao Xiumei, the most eye-catching coloratura soprano in the contemporary era, Pinchas Zukerman, the immortal myth in the 20th century classical music world, Wu Wei, a modern avant-garde sheng player in the international music world, NCPA’s 2023/24 artist-in-residence Ning Feng, China’s outstanding pipe organ representative Shen Fanxiu, Philadelphia Orchestra cello principal Ni Haiye, music talent Li Quan and other top domestic and foreign artistic celebrities in many fields have joined to dedicate wonderful performances to the May Music Festival.
At the same time, many international famous groups will also return to the stage of the Grand Theater after many years. The Italian Musicians Ensemble, the Copenhagen Ancient Orchestra, the Vienna 5+1 Cello, the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet, the French Van Cool Quartet, German Saxophone Quintet, Meijie Trio, etc. will bring the audience a kaleidoscope-like colorful world of chamber music with their most representative repertoire and creative arrangements.
This May Music Festival will focus on classics, innovate the interpretation of classic works, explore "unpopular" treasure works, and fully demonstrate the colorful charm of chamber music art. In the interpretation of classic works, the Italian Musicians Ensemble and Shen Fanxiu will perform pure Baroque in two concerts respectively; the Austria-Hungary Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra, the "Haydn music spokesperson", will bring the Haydn family for the first time, authoritatively presenting Haydn's works. It is simple and humorous; violinist Ning Feng will conduct and solo two special performances of Mozart's Little Concert, which is a feast for the ears; Zuckerman will give a solo performance for the first time, and three Beethoven violin sonatas demonstrate the master's never-fading profundity The Mejie Trio, which is loved by the audience, will perform a special performance of Beethoven's classic trio; the French Fanco Quartet will present a full range of French works.
In addition to classic chamber music repertoire, this music festival will continue to innovate chamber music interpretation forms, expand chamber music genres, and unlock multiple ways to open chamber music. The opening concert "Bow and String Feast" version 4.0 has been upgraded again. Domestic young and middle-aged string masters such as Lu Siqing, Huang Mengla, Chen Xi, Luo Chaowen, Su Zhen, Qin Liwei, Sun Yingdi once again share the stage, and famous performers from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra are invited, as well as Qingxin Chamber Orchestra, based on the violin, introduces flute, harp and other instruments, enriching the repertoire and fully demonstrating the beautiful combination of bows and strings. Chinese and foreign artists will form a rich range of chamber music ensembles and concerto forms to perform classic chamber music from the Baroque and classical periods as well as commissioned Chinese works. Cao Xiumei and the Italian Music Ensemble interspersed cantatas and oratorio excerpts in "Four Seasons", and instrumental and vocal music complemented each other, bringing a sense of agility to chamber music; the Copenhagen Ancient Orchestra's "Spring Time" will perform from Baroque to Works by contemporary composers inspired by "spring" will bring the audience an authentic musical experience full of spring in the most beautiful month of May; Vienna 5+1 Cello will bring their own unique music experience in the second half creatively, presenting a musical story with a plot arranged through repertoire - "The Famous Spring in the Vienna Woods"; Wu Wei and the National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra will premiere in China Bernd Deutsch's composition for the Chinese musical instrument sheng The repertoire, as well as Bartók's work "Two Portraits" with strong Hungarian national characteristics, show the dialogue between world nations. Midnight Rose, which is most anticipated by the audience, will be led by Li Quan and six important musicians and rising jazz newcomers in the current Chinese jazz music industry. They will interweave and collide the three elements of classical, pop and jazz, and reinterpret the classic music. A classic melody that gives a romantic swing.
On the stage of this May Music Festival, many Chinese troupes have joined together to demonstrate the strong momentum of the development of local chamber music.In addition to the China Philharmonic Orchestra and China Symphony Orchestra, which are participating for the first time, the chamber music arrangements of domestic orchestras such as the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, China Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra will also showcase themselves at this May Music Festival. artistic strength and group characteristics.
In order to let more audiences appreciate the colorful charm of chamber music, this May Music Festival has expanded its performance space to the Beijing Art Center for the first time, bringing high-quality performances to a wider audience. The Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet, the French Fancourt Quartet, the "Fifth Element" German Saxophone Quintet, four wonderful performances by famous domestic and foreign groups will be presented in sequence.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
editor/Gong Lifang
