Debra Li

    debra_lidan@163.com

    THE Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, one of the world’s most renowned orchestras for young musicians, will stage a concert at Shenzhen Concert Hall on March 3 next year.

    The leading soloist of the tour will be Russian violinist Kirill Troussov, an ex-member of the Verbier Festival Academy. The gifted virtuoso and former pupil of Zakhar Bron and Yehudi Menuhin has performed with some of the word’s most famous orchestras. These include the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig and the Orchestre de Paris, under the direction of such conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Daniele Gatti and Lawrence Foster.

    For their first tour of China, Troussov and the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra have prepared a special repertoire. Mozart’s “Divertimento” will be followed by the “Eight Seasons,” a program which alternates the pieces of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto “The Four Seasons” and Astor Piazzola’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” By contrasting European baroque music with Argentinian tango, it offers a unique and rich musical approach to the universal topic of the “seasons.”

    The orchestra is one of the flagship orchestras of the Verbier Festival. Started in Verbier, Switzerland in 1994, the festival offers young musicians an invaluable stepping stone for their careers. Chinese pianists Lang Lang, Wang Yujia and Li Yundi have all participated in the festival.

    Aged 28 to 35, the members of the orchestra are accomplished musicians holding major positions in prestigious international orchestras. The orchestra held its world premiere in New York with Renée Fleming, followed by a European tour with violinist Vadim Repin. The orchestra’s collaboration with Maxim Vengerov at the BBC Proms in August 2006 attracted worldwide attention and rave reviews.

    “We are excited to bring the spirit of the Verbier Festival to China through this tour,” said Martin T:son Engstroem, founder and executive director of the festival.

    The orchestra will also perform in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as part of the tour which is sponsored by Swiss private banking group Bank Julius Baer.

    Time: 8 p.m., March 3

    Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路和益田路交汇处深圳音乐厅)

    Buses: N9, 15, 25, 35, 38, 41, 54, 60, 65, 71, K105, 107, 108, 111, 215, 228, 235, 236, 237

    Metro: Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit C or D