Opening Programme

East-West convergence across the eras

Under the baton of Artistic Director Yan Huichang, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra brings together many classics to this concert.  The concert spotlights the theme of transcending traditions through music by master composers.  In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Violin Concerto The Butterfly Lovers, the orchestra has specially invited internationally acclaimed Chinese violinist Siqing Lu to be the soloist.  Other great music includes Song of the General by Peng Xiuwen in the 1950s, Follow the Pagoda Tree to Trace the Roots of Our Ancestors, a work of orchestral folk music by Zhao Jiping, A Sorrowful Tune by renowned composer Zhu Jian’er from Shanghai, his first full-length work for Chinese orchestra, commissioned by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.  The orchestra has also commissioned Hong Kong young composer Ng Cheuk-yin to write Big Tree, featuring a solo performance by Concertmaster Zhang Chongxue using the Eco-Huqin developed by the orchestra, as well as commissioning Ng King-pan to write Next Station Moon, showcasing the strengths of Hong Kong young composers.

Kunqu x Chinese orchestral music

In 2018, the critically acclaimed Hong Kong premiere of two Kunqu works which were based on two classic plays written in the Ming and the Qing period – Peony Pavilion and The Palace of Eternal Life – marked the first collaboration between the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Zhang Jun, the “Prince of Kunqu”.  The “cross-genre symphonic” productions are now brought to Shanghai with the purpose to invite the audience to share the emotionally touching experience about never-dying love created not merely by Kunqu theatre itself, but by its symphonic synthesis with a full-size Chinese orchestra.

A fun day out with favourite hits

Led by conductor Chew Hee-chiat, the outdoor concert features a crossover of pop classics from the East and the West, including familiar TV drama theme songs from Shanghai and Hong Kong, film scores and Cantonese tunes, sharing the joy of music in a relaxing outdoor atmosphere.