Debra Li

    debra_lidan@163.com

    AS the prices of everything from food to fuel are increasing, local music fans will be pleased to know that the prices of tickets to see the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SSO) are still in the 50-280 yuan (US$8-45) range.

    SSO will commence its long-awaited spring and summer season Friday night. The more-than-four-month season will feature works of Western classical and romantic masters as well as contemporary Chinese composers.

    SSO fan club members can enjoy discounts of up to 40 percent, and free membership can be applied at the SSO office in Luohu District.

    For Friday’s concert, SSO will present the “Symphony No. 5” by Schubert, conducted by artistic director Christian Ehwald.

    Infatuated with Mozart at the time he composed “Symphony No. 5,” Schubert adopted the balance and gentleness typical of the classical music of his 18th-century predecessors. “It can be compared with the best of Mozart or Haydn,” introduced SSO spokeswoman Liu Xiaoyan.

    The opening show will also feature Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 4,” written between 1899 and 1900 in the pleasant surroundings of a pastoral rural area.

    “Unlike his other symphonies that are full of drama and intensity, this piece is lyrical and sweet,” Liu said. “It incorporates a song in the work’s fourth and last movement which was originally written in 1892. The song, sung by a soprano, presents a child’s vision of Heaven.”

    German soprano Martina Ruping will perform the song. Praised for her “beguiling pianissimo” and “crystal-clear coloraturas,” she has given guest performances at major international opera houses, such as in Los Angeles, Toulouse, Turin, Tokyo, and Berlin.

    Liu said the 15 concerts at Shenzhen Concert Hall mostly feature masterpieces of classical music.

    “As usual we will focus on the works of German and Austrian masters like Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms. We will also perform the works of the greatest composers from Britian, France and Russia,” she said. “For instance, we will perform Elgar’s elegiac ‘Cello Concerto’ as well as the great works by Bizet, Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov.”

    SSO will also promote the works of contemporary Chinese composers such as Huang Anlun. It will arrange a special Children’s Day concert to treat young music fans as well.

    Familiar guest performers for the season include established Korean-American conductor Hahm Shin-ik, Chinese conductors Zhang Guoyong and Tang Muhai, cellists Qin Liwei and Nie Jiapeng, violinists Chen Xi and Li Chuanyun, and pianists Zuo Zhang and Yuan Jie.

    Several guest performers will also appear with SSO, including master Hungarian cellist Suzanne Ramon, Chinese percussionist Hu Shengnan, young Israeli pianist Lahav Shani and Korean conductor Hong Seok-won.

    “To better serve the citizens and attract young people to classical music, we will invite local students to free concerts,” Liu said. “Interested schools can contact us to work out the details.”

    The orchestra will also hold regular free chamber music concerts at community theaters in Luohu. Students can buy tickets to the below-listed concerts five in a package for only 100 yuan.

    “Serious music fans may also consider our guest performance with conductor Daniel Oren of ‘Turandot’ at Guangzhou Grand Theater in June,” said Liu. The opera will feature Lise Lindstrom and Marco Berti as lead singers.