Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra’s debut UK tour with acclaimed violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen will bring award-winning film scores and orchestral pieces to Edinburgh
Orchestral music lovers in Scotland have the rare opportunity to experience one of Asia’s most revered orchestras this March, as the China Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) performs at Usher Hall on its first ever UK tour on Sunday 17 March.
The orchestra’s debut UK tour will see more than 100 musicians on stage presenting a fantastically wide-ranging and impressive programme that unusually features both film and orchestral music.
It includes the UK’s first live orchestral performances since its release over 20 years ago of film score excerpts from the Academy Award-winning hit movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which blends Chinese ceremonial and classical music together in action-packed drama. The film score was composed by Tan Dun, who is also the SZSO’s principal honorary conductor.
The programme also features Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Chausson’s Poème, a fantastical story about a woman seduced by a former lover with an enchanted violin, for which the SZSO will be joined by acclaimed and internationally renowned violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen.
Audiences will get to take a trip to the Eternal City with Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome, performed uniquely on this tour as a duo. These lavishly orchestrated tone poems written for a large orchestra capture the very essence of Rome with vivid portraits of bustling city streets, pastoral scenes, pines against a moonlit sky, and the marching tread of a Roman army along the Appian Way.
Since the orchestra was founded over 40 years ago in Shenzhen, the city has transformed from a small fishing village into China’s third most populous city and a global technology hub. The SZSO grew from this backdrop and now represents the rich culture of Shenzhen, under the direction of Daye Lin, one of the most exciting young conductors in China.
Daye Lin, music director and principal conductor, says: “It has been a dream of mine for a long time to bring the China Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra to the UK and we can’t wait to perform for UK audiences across the country. We hope to welcome orchestral audiences new and old – we’ve created a programme that includes moments of exciting drama, serene beauty, and virtuosic brilliance, which we know British audiences will enjoy.”
Tamsin Waley-Cohen, solo violinist, says: “After touring China in 2019, it will be a joy to have this rare opportunity to perform with a Chinese orchestra in Britain, especially one as exciting as the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the supremely talented Daye Lin. We will be performing two pieces by Chausson and Saint-Saens, both of works that enthralled me playing them as a teenager, and now I am finding great joy in revisiting them. I can’t wait to bring them to audiences around the UK.”
Cllr Val Walker, culture and communities convener at City of Edinburgh Council, says: “We’re excited to welcome the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra this March – there can be no better location to experience a live classical performance than the world-famous Usher Hall. Designed and built with a view to bring classical music to Scotland’s capital, our venue has been a key part of our musical culture for over a century. I am proud that the tradition of concert-going at Edinburgh’s most stunning indoor venue continues as strongly as ever.
“It’s a genuine pleasure to sit back in the impressive hall and lose yourself in the music, and our new Sunday Classics series features first-class orchestras and classical superstars from around the world. Plus, with lots of options and special rates on tickets, the Usher Hall is helping to make classical music accessible to all.”
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