Debra Li

debra_lidan@163.com

THE past two months have been difficult for all, with the COVID-19 outbreak forcing everyone to stay home and give up many enjoyable things that people had taken for granted.

After a long hiatus, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) is finally restarting their musical season this week, with three concerts scheduled for this month. Playing without a live audience at Shenzhen Concert Hall, these concerts will be aired on Tencent Video.

The first concert, to be performed Friday night and aired at 8 p.m. Saturday, will be conducted by SZSO music director Lin Daye and feature pianist Zuo Zhang.

Zuo will be the soloist on “Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor” by Brahms, a piece the composer spent five years on and completed in 1858.

Internationally recognized for her imaginative and electrifying performances, Zuo possesses a dazzling technical prowess and spontaneous flair.

The pianist began her early musical training at age 5. Starting in 1995, she learned after Dan Zhaoyi at Shenzhen Arts School and soon became one of the most sought-after young artists in China. She has since collaborated with virtually all the major orchestras in China as well as with orchestras internationally, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2006, Zhang moved to the United States and continued her studies with Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music and with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she won the school’s coveted Petschek Piano Award. She has won prizes at many international competitions, including 5th prize at the 2013 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition.

For the second half of the concert, SZSO will perform Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 7,” a piece commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

Those who have purchased tickets to the three concerts are reminded to get a refund at the box office of Shenzhen Concert Hall.