Debra Li

    debra_lidan@163.com

    SPRING is a time to celebrate new life and start afresh, and the Shenzhen Concert Hall seems to be resonating with the vibes in nature and trying to provide some new experience for local music fans in their spring/summer season.

    Between March and August, the concert hall will be arranging eight programs performed by artists from home and abroad, covering classical orchestra music, chamber music, Spanish folk music, percussion, and Chinese music.

    Opening the season will be percussion duo Rachel Zhang Xi from Shenzhen and Laurent Warnier from Luxembourg. Crossing paths in 2007, Zhang and Warnier’s music reflects a unique blend of cultural and musical differences. She plays the piano and he is a European percussionist influenced by jazz and new music. Together, they have found common ground through contemporary percussion, where they have fused their contrasts to form the unique duo they are today. Using Marimba One instruments, they enlarge the marimbas’ repertoire in every direction, from making transcriptions to commissioning new pieces. In 2009, the duo was awarded the Bernard Haitink Prize and a scholarship during the Vriedenkrans Competition in Amsterdam. Since then, they have toured around the Netherlands, China and the United States.

    Following, will be Evoeh from Spain. The troupe began in 2005 as a vocal duo with guitar accompaniment. Since then, they have sought to bring out the varied colors of different types of traditional Spanish music. Now, the group has six members, having added an oboist and a string trio. They have worked on compositions, transcriptions and arrangements of diverse pieces, from Sephardic vocal melodies to classical symphonies. Audiences will hear the fascinating Spanish guitar and whistle playing flamenco and Paso Doble music.

    Two days ahead of Mother’s Day, the Hába Quartet, founded in Prague, will stage a concert to mark the festival. First founded in 1946 by violinist Dusan Pandula, the Hába Quartet’s focus was on collaboration with important contemporary composers, especially the leading composer of the microtonal school, Alois Hába, who gave his name to the troupe and dedicated the last 12 of his 17 quartets to the ensemble.

    Later, under political pressure, they changed the ensemble’s name to Novák Quartet. In 1968, the quartet disbanded after Dusan Pandula defected to West Germany. Sixteen years later, he reestablished the quartet, this time in Frankfurt with his pupil Peter Zelienka. Today, its four members are violinists Sha Katsouris and Hovhannes Mokatsian, violist Peter Zelienka and cellist Arnold Ilg. A string quartet between classic and modern, they specialize in contemporary music, but also stage various epochs and many rarely played pieces. With them, the audience will experience the grace of the classics as well as the passions of the tango.

    The highlight of the season will be a concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra on May 29. This will be the orchestra’s first performance in Shenzhen. Renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of many firsts in music making, the Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the preeminent orchestras in the world. One of the “Big Five” American orchestras, it was formed by Fritz Scheel in 1900. Yannick Nézet-Séguin now serves as its eighth music director.

    Unlike previous projects targeting young audiences, the Children’s Day concert this year will have nothing to do with Miyazaki Hayao’s animation films. Instead, the concert will feature traditional Chinese music as well as computer game-themed pieces.

    Grammy award-winning flutist Rhonda Larson will certainly draw in audiences to her solo concert July 13. Rhonda’s diversity, combined with her musical and technical wizardry, has inspired a new generation’s love for the flute as a leading voice in the music world. Composing much of her own repertoire, Larson is recognized as a visionary force in creating refreshing hybrid music for the flute, including her versatility on an array of ethnic flutes from around the world.

    Concluding the season will be zither player Chang Jing, who was featured in the soundtrack for Zhang Yimou’s movie “Under the Hawthorn Tree.” She also played “A Moonlit Night on the Spring River” at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and collaborated with Yanni at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala last year.

    The tickets will start from 80 yuan (US$12.9) per seat. Music Lovers Club members and those who buy package tickets will enjoy various discounts.

    Alongside commercial shows, the concert hall continues to offer free Beautiful Sunday series and Afternoon Music Time series on Saturdays.

    Shenzhen Concert Hall spring/summer schedule

    8 p.m., March 30 Joint Venture Percussion Duo in concert

    8 p.m., April 11 Spanish New Folk Band Evoeh in concert

    8 p.m., May 9 Frankfurt Haba Quartet in concert

    8 p.m., May 29 Philadelphia Orchestra’s Shenzhen debut

    8 p.m., June 1 Children’s Day concert

    8 p.m., July 13 Flutist Rhonda Larson’s concert

    8 p.m., July 26 Inner Mongolian Children’s Choir in concert

    8 p.m., Aug. 2 Zither player Chang Jing’s concert

    Tel: 8284-1666, 8284-1888

    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)

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

    Website:

    www.shenzhenconcerthall.com