Debra Li

debra_lidan@163.com

THE Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) led by its artistic director Lin Daye struck the final note of their eight-concert tour around the United Kingdom at Croydon Fairfield Halls on March 22, bidding farewell to the appreciative British audiences.

The debut tour, which kicked off March 11 in Birmingham, has put the Shenzhen orchestra front and center on Britain’s classical music scene. It also helped nurture goodwill and strengthen the bond between the two countries’ people.

Over 100 musicians performed on the tour’s impressive two-set programs, encompassing both contemporary and classical pieces.

For the concerts in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Basingstoke, the program included excerpts from Chinese composer Tan Dun’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Ernest Chausson’s “Poème for Solo Violin and Orchestra,” Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28,” and two of Ottorino Respighi’s “Roman Trilogy.”

For the other three shows in Sheffield, Perth, and Croydon, the second half of the program was swapped for Mahler’s colossal “Symphony No. 1 in D Major,” also known as “Titan.” The concerts headlined Chinese cellist Nie Jiapeng and British violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen.

“Nie played the solo part with great charm, especially those quieter moments where his mournful glissandi echoed the erhu, the bowed string instrument for which the work was originally scored,” a classical music fan who attended the concert in Sheffield commented.

On the evening of March 13, the audience at London’s Cadogan Hall, a little over 900 in all, immediately gave the touring orchestra a standing ovation after the final note sounded off of Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.”

“London is one of the leading global metropolises and cultural capitals,” Lin said after the concert. “Approval from this audience with sophisticated taste for music, both classical and pop, means a great deal to me. Our hard work has been rewarded by their warm applause.”

Sitting among the audience were many industry pros, including James Williams, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s managing director, who will lead his orchestra on a Chinese tour in summer.

“The stage of Cadogan Hall is home turf of the Shenzhen orchestra this evening, who has given us an extraordinary performance,” he said.

On the afternoon of March 17, SZSO met the audience at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Shenzhen’s sister city for five years. To honor the special bond between the two cities, a short video especially recorded by Shenzhen mayor Qin Weizhong prior to the tour was played to send his greetings to the music fans of Edinburgh.

Robert Aldridge, Qin’s counterpart in Edinburgh, who attended the show, praised the concert as a “top-class performance, with incredible soloists and overall high-caliber delivery from the orchestra as well.”

He added that cultural exchanges are the key to building a partnership and anticipated more visits and other events between the two cities in the future.