IN September, the Shenzhen Concert Hall has curated performances featuring both Chinese and overseas musicians in its two public benefit series: Beautiful Sunday and Afternoon Music Time. Audiences will hear classical Western musical pieces as well as familiar tones from Chinese music.

Rachmaninoff’s works

On Sunday, Wang Di, a member of the piano faculty at the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), will lead Huang Zilan, Feng Xiaolin, Huang Yuyi, and other students to perform solo, duo, piano four hands, and six hands. The program will exclusively feature the works of Rachmaninoff, including his delicate and lyrical “Suite No. 1 for Two Pianos in G Minor, Op. 5,” “Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 36,” the melancholy and passionate “Symphonic Dances, Op. 45,” and “Six Pieces for Four Hands, Op. 11.”

Wang, who began playing the piano at the age of 5, studied with Jerome Rose at Mannes College of Music in New York with a full scholarship at 18. Later, he graduated with a doctorate from the Mason Gross School of Arts. Besides performing at solo concerts, he has served on the jury of the 2021 Hannover Gieseking Piano Competition in Beijing.

Time: 3 p.m., Sept. 1

Tickets: 10-30 yuan

‘Yellow River Cantata’

Conducted by Luo Shenka, the chorus of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra will perform the “Yellow River Cantata” on Sept. 8, featuring tenor Li Yang, baritone Ren Ting, and soprano Tian Jingyi as soloists. Both Li and Ren are students of tenor Shi Yijie at the School of Music, CUHK-Shenzhen, while Tian studies under tenor Yang Yan at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou. Li Renyi, a well-known drama performer, will recite “The Yellow River Comes From the Sky,” a verse set to music that forms the third movement out of eight in the cantata.

The 1939 “Yellow River Cantata,” with lyrics by Guang Weiran set to music by Xian Xinghai, and the later “Yellow River Concerto” derived from it, are among the few pieces of Chinese classical instrumental music that have entered the standard orchestral repertory. A patriotic epic piece, the music infuses Chinese folk music elements and features a mélange of Western and Chinese instruments such as violin, harmonica, guitar, erhu (a two-stringed Chinese fiddle), sanxian (three-stringed fretless lute), gong, and bamboo flute, among others.

Time: 3 p.m., Sept. 8

Tickets: 10-30 yuan

A crossover concert

On Sept. 22, erhu player Meng Xiaoxu, yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) player Chou Wanning, and pianist Chen Xiaomeng, all young teachers at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, will perform a crossover concert with the Guangzhou-based Xingyue String Quartet. The program will feature familiar Chinese songs such as “Why Are Flowers So Red” and “Jiu Er,” as well as Chinese musical pieces including “Galloping War Horses” and “You Long Zou Xiang,” depicting dragon boat races in South China and composed by Li Bochan.

Time: 3 p.m., Sept. 22

Tickets: 10-30 yuan

The free Afternoon Music Time series will feature a piano and saxophone duo Sept. 7, a chamber concert Sept. 21 featuring the works of Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, and Piazzolla, and a Chinese instrument concert Sept. 28 that will include a mix of Western classics, Chinese works, and movie soundtracks.

Admissions are free for this series, but tickets are required. Those interested can reserve tickets via the WeChat account of the Shenzhen Concert Hall (ID: szyinyuet).

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (深圳音乐厅)

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