NY Philharmonic To Celebrate the Year of the Horse with Chinese New Year Concert and Gala, February 1
By: Robert Diamond Oct. 08, 2013
The New York Philharmonic in collaboration with CAMI Music will celebrate the Chinese New Year for the third consecutive year, welcoming the Year of the Horse with a concert featuring major works of both the Chinese and Western canon on Saturday, February 1, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. The event celebrates the cultural heritage of China and America and honors the Chinese- American community. Long Yu - artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic, music director of the Shanghai and Guanzhou Symphony Orchestras, and artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival - will return to the Philharmonic to conduct the concert.
This year's program will feature Beijing-born pianist Yuja Wang performing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Taiwanese-American violinist Cho-Liang Lin performing Dvor?a?k's Romance for Violin and Orchestra; and Chinese-born cellist Jian Wang, in his Philharmonic debut, performing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. The three soloists will together perform Tan Dun's The Triple Resurrection, which includes music from the composer's scores for the Martial Arts Trilogy, comprising Hero; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and The Banquet. The Spring Festival Overture, a traditional work celebrating the Chinese New Year, will once again open the concert, and the program will also feature Yuan Mao's New Year's Greeting.
As music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Long Yu plays a key role in the Philharmonic's recently announced partnership with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Conservatory, which begins in 2014 and comprises the establishment of the Shanghai Orchestral Academy, as well as Philharmonic performance residencies in Shanghai through the 2017-18 season.
Gala events will include a pre-concert champagne reception from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., the concert, and a seated dinner immediately following the concert. The dress will be traditional Chinese
attire or black-tie. Honorary Gala Chairmen are Mr. and Mrs. Maurice R. Greenberg and H.E. Ambassador Sun Guoxiang, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York, and Madam Wang Min. The Gala Co-Chairmen are Angela Chen, Gary W. Parr, Oscar L. Tang and Agnes Hsu-Tang, and Shirley Young. A portion of the proceeds will support the Philharmonic's acclaimed School Partnership Program at P.S. 120 in Flushing, Queens, which serves a large population of Chinese-Americans and recent immigrants from China.
Artists
Chinese conductor Long Yu is artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, which he co-founded in 2000; music director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras; founding artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival; and artistic co- director (with Charles Dutoit) of the MISA Festival, which brings classical music to the young people of Shanghai. Mr. Yu played a leading role in creating China's first orchestral academy as a partnership between Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Conservatory, and the New York Philharmonic. He regularly appears with the world's leading orchestras and opera companies, including the New York, Munich, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Tokyo philharmonic orchestras; the Chicago, BBC, Sydney, and Singapore symphony orchestras; and the Orchestre de Paris, Hamburg Staatsoper, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro La Fenice, and Philadelphia Orchestra. As a champion of new music, he has commissioned works from today's most prestigious composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, John Corigliano, Guo Wenjing, and Ye Xiaogang. Mr. Yu led the China Philharmonic's performance for Pope Benedict XIV, the first time in history a Chinese orchestra performed at the Vatican. A passionate supporter of cultural dialogue, Mr. Yu brought together top Asian musicians - including Myung-Whun Chung, Midori, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ray Chen - for the 2010 Canton Asian Music Festival in connection with the XVI Asian Games in Guangzhou. The festival also featured a rare appearance of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan in mainland China. Deutsche Grammophon has released Mr. Yu's recordings of Wagner's Tannha?user Overture, Schoenberg's orchestration of Brahms's Piano Quartet in G minor, and a wide range of Chinese orchestral music including the Yellow River Concerto with Lang Lang. Long Yu's recordings on Naxos include the Korngold and Goldmark Violin Concertos with Vera Tsu, as well as Ding Shande's Long March Symphony. Born in 1964 in Shanghai, he studied at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. He is a Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the recipient of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation's 2002 Arts Patronage Award, and in 2005 the Republic of Italy honored him with the title of L'onorificenza di commendatore. Mr. Yu's first appearance with the Philharmonic was during a New York Philharmonic Concert in the Park on the Great Lawn in 2010, and he first led the Orchestra in January 2012, when he conducted the inaugural Chinese New Year Concert. Most recently, he led the Orchestra's 2013 Chinese New Year Concert, with soloists Herbie Hancock, Yin Huang, Yan Wang, Jennifer Johnson Cano, and the Snow Lotus Trio.
Pianist Yuja Wang has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Simo?n Boli?var, and Tokyo's NHK symphony orchestras; Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw orchestras; the Los Angeles, New York, Israel, and London philharmonic orchestras; and the Berlin Staatskapelle, Filarmonica della Scala, and Orquesta Nacional Espan?a. Conductors with whom she has collaborated include Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti,
Manfred Honeck, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, Yuri Temirkanov, and Michael Tilson-Thomas. Ms. Wang regularly gives recitals throughout Asia, Europe, and North America, and appears at summer chamber music festivals, including her annual engagement at the Verbier Festival. Highlights of this season include performances with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Mr. Mehta, followed by an appearance with that ensemble at Vienna's Musikverein and a U.S. tour. She also tours with the San Francisco Symphony in Asia, performs an all-Brahms cycle in Paris with the principal players of the Berlin Philharmonic, and gives a recital tour of Japan that culminates with her debut at Tokyo's Suntory Hall. An exclusive recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon, Ms. Wang's catalogue includes three sonata recordings and a concerto recording with Claudio Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra that features Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Piano Concerto No. 2 (Grammy Award nominee for Best Classical Instrumental Solo). She studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Ling Yuan and Zhou Guangren, the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary with Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone, and The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Gary Graffman. In 2010 she received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Yuja Wang first appeared with the Philharmonic in 2006, performing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 as part of performances at Bravo! Vail, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, and in Tokyo, led by Lorin Maazel. Her most recent appearance was in 2012 performing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, conducted by Jaap van Zweden.
Violinist Cho-Liang Lin's career has spanned the globe for more than 30 years. Performing on several continents, he appears as soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, and San Diego symphony orchestras; in Europe with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Bergen, Stockholm, and Munich philharmonic orchestras; and in Asia with the Hong Kong and Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Singapore and Bangkok Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Lin has added to his orchestral engagements as soloist by conducting, and completed season-long residencies with the Shanghai and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. He has enjoyed collaborations and premieres with composers including Tan Dun, Joel Hoffman, John Harbison, Christopher Rouse, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lalo Schifrin, Paul Schoenfield, Bright Sheng, and Joan Tower. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Lin appears at the Beijing Music Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Aspen and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festivals. He is music director of La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest and artistic director of Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival and of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra's Youth Music Summer Camp. Mr. Lin's extensive award-winning discography includes his recent recordings of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, works by Bright Sheng and Gordon Chin, and George Tsontakis's First Violin Concerto. Upcoming recordings include a violin concerto by Joan Tower with the Nashville Symphony. Cho-Liang Lin's studies began in his native Taiwan at age five with Sylvia Lee, and he studied with Robert Pikler in Sydney and Dorothy DeLay in New York. He made his New York debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival at age 19, followed soon thereafter with the New York Philharmonic. In 2000 Mr. Lin was named Musical America's Instrumentalist of the Year. He joined The Juilliard School faculty in 1991, and was recently appointed professor of violin at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He plays the 1715 "Titian" Stradivarius. Mr. Lin made his New York Philharmonic debut in 1981, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, conducted by Zubin Mehta. His most recent appearance was in 2001, when he performed Christopher Rouse's Violin Concerto, led by David Zinman.
Jian Wang began to study the cello with his father when he was four. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. Violinist Isaac Stern's encouragement and support enabled him to study with Aldo Parisot at the Yale School of Music. During the 2012-13 season, Jian Wang's concerto engagements include performance of Tan Dun's The Triple Resurrection with the New York Philharmonic as well as the Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras. He will also appear with the NDR Hamburg and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, and gives recital and chamber concerts in Berlin, Copenhagen, and Hong Kong. In July 2013 he performed an extensive recital tour in Australia. Last season, Jian Wang's performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Vladimir Ashkenazy, BBC Symphony Orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. In China he has played for the President and opened the season for the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, and Macau Symphony orchestras. He has also performed with the China National Orchestra and Hangzhou Symphony, and played Bach's complete Cello Suites at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. Jian Wang's international engagements have included Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; the Chicago, London, and NHK symphony orchestras; and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Myung-Whun Chung, Riccardo Chailly, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Harding, Neeme Ja?rvi, Emmanuel Krivine, Louis Langre?e, and Ludovic Morlot. His most recent releases on Deutsche Grammophon include Reverie (arrangements for cello and guitar) and Bach's Cello Suites. He has also recorded Elgar's Cello Concerto live with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Ashkenazy (Decca/ABC Classics). His instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Mr. Sau-Wing Lam. This performance marks Jian Wang's New York Philharmonic debut.
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