FOR the first time, the Berlin Philharmonic (BPO), one of top three orchestras in Europe, is coming to town.

The BPO will perform two nights under the baton of charismatic Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel at Shenzhen Concert Hall.

The program for Friday night includes Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphony No. 1,” also called “Jeremiah,” with mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford from the Metropolitan Opera, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Fifth Symphony.” On Saturday, the orchestra will perform Bernstein’s “Divertimento” as well as Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5.”

As this year marks the 100th anniversary of Bernstein’s birth, it’s a natural choice for the BPO to honor this great American composer and conductor.

It’s also interesting to note that Bernstein was also a critical figure in the modern revival of the music of Mahler, the composer he was most passionately interested in. Bernstein himself conducted the fourth movement of Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5.” during the funeral mass for Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. The movement has also been used by figure skaters in the Olympics, for film scores and on the ABC television show “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Shostakovich’s “Fifth Symphony” has been well received by the public and critics alike since its premiere in 1937.

Dudamel, born in 1981, is widely known as one of the world’s top three younger-generation conductors, along with Daniel Harding and Yannick Nezet Seguin.

He took up the violin at 10, followed by composition and conducting at 14. Dudamel has won a number of conducting competitions, including the prestigious Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize in Germany in 2004.

He is now the music director of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Last year, Dudamel conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in their traditional New Year’s Day Concert.

For those who have not bought the tickets, a live broadcast of Friday’s concert can be enjoyed at the opening of the fifth Lianhua Hill Glades Music Festival at Kite Square.

The organizers have also invited local radio emcee Jing Yan and Shenzhen University music professor Gu Yong to host the live broadcast.

Time: 8 p.m., Nov. 16-17

Tickets: 580-2,980 yuan

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: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D

(SD News)