Related News
Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
The curtain rises on Hangzhou Philharmonic's first season
By Xu Wenwen |
September 10, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE curtain has gone up on the promising 2009-10 music season of the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, which debuted in July.
The first concert of the season last Friday featured Verdi's "Nabucco Overture," Donizetti's duet from "Lucia di Lammermoor," Mascagni's intermezzo from "Cavalleria Rusticana," Puccini's "Che Gelida Manina," "Mi Ciamo Mimi", "Love Duetto" from "La Boheme," and "Symphony No. 1 in C Minor."
Yang Yang, principal conductor of the Hangzhou orchestra, cooperated with soprano Zhang Liping of the Central Conservatory of China and famed tenor Zhang Jianyi.
The performance was sold out and the appreciative audience numbered 1,500. At the end, there was a standing ovation.
Audience etiquette was a problem, however, starting at the very beginning as Yang lifted his baton. A latecomer walked across the front row, her high heels making a very audible clicking noise.
Yang immediately stopped and stared at the woman until she sat down and everyone stopped murmuring about her rude behavior.
During the performance, some impolite behavior continued: there was considerable chatting, throat-clearing, even children screaming.
"Newspapers and leaflets both advise audiences how to behave in concerts, but some people just don't listen," says one music lover surnamed Zhao. "I suggest the theater put rules of etiquette on an LED screen near the stage."
Ticket prices of the new season performances were very low - 15 yuan (US$2.2) to 120 yuan - an effort to attract more people.
In the Hangzhou Grand Theater, 15-yuan tickets are usually for Chinese operas, and are only offered to students and senior citizens.
It was the first time that low-price tickets were sold for a Western musical performance.
"We don't want to make music so exalted that it's beyond most people's reach," says Deng Jingshan, director of the orchestra. "Music belongs to the mass."
The Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra was established as an independent, non-profit institution subsidized by Hangzhou municipal government. Around 8 million yuan has been invested in musical instruments.
Each performance costs 170,000-180,000 yuan, Deng says.
Ticket sales account for relatively little income.
The orchestra numbers 76 performers. Around one third of them graduated from music conservatories in the United States, the United Kingdom, German, Austria and other countries. Another third hold master's and doctoral degrees and have won international competitions.
To attract first-rate talent, the municipal government allocated 100 million yuan for finding a new home for the orchestra, 15 million yuan annually in salaries and rent subsidies. Deng says paying orchestra members' rent is a first for China. It's a young orchestra, the average age around 25 years.
"Everyone is active and so are the leaders, they are open to new ideas," says Zhai Huili, the principal cellist. "Being part of the orchestra is like creating our own business."
The aim is to make the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra a first-class orchestra, with a repertoire of 1,000 classical works within three to five years.
It is expected to perform at least 80 times a year.
The first part of the 2009-10 season will run through next July. There will be around 20 performances, around 80 percent of which are in the Hangzhou Grand Theater and the rest in the Hangzhou Theater.
"Butterfly Lovers Concerto"
Date: September 16, 7:30pm
Chamber music concert
Date: October 1-2, 7:30pm
Grand Canal Symphony Concert, including "Yellow River Cantata" and "Ode to the Red Flag"
Date: October 13-14, 7:30pm
Venue: Hangzhou Grand Theater, 66 Zhijiang Rd E.
Tickets: 15-120 yuan
Tel: 800-857-1780
Booking on the theater's English Website:
www.hzdjy.com/english/ticket.asp
How to get there:
Take K84, K517 and stop at the Hangzhou Grand Theater;
Take B2 to the Citizen Center stop.
The first concert of the season last Friday featured Verdi's "Nabucco Overture," Donizetti's duet from "Lucia di Lammermoor," Mascagni's intermezzo from "Cavalleria Rusticana," Puccini's "Che Gelida Manina," "Mi Ciamo Mimi", "Love Duetto" from "La Boheme," and "Symphony No. 1 in C Minor."
Yang Yang, principal conductor of the Hangzhou orchestra, cooperated with soprano Zhang Liping of the Central Conservatory of China and famed tenor Zhang Jianyi.
The performance was sold out and the appreciative audience numbered 1,500. At the end, there was a standing ovation.
Audience etiquette was a problem, however, starting at the very beginning as Yang lifted his baton. A latecomer walked across the front row, her high heels making a very audible clicking noise.
Yang immediately stopped and stared at the woman until she sat down and everyone stopped murmuring about her rude behavior.
During the performance, some impolite behavior continued: there was considerable chatting, throat-clearing, even children screaming.
"Newspapers and leaflets both advise audiences how to behave in concerts, but some people just don't listen," says one music lover surnamed Zhao. "I suggest the theater put rules of etiquette on an LED screen near the stage."
Ticket prices of the new season performances were very low - 15 yuan (US$2.2) to 120 yuan - an effort to attract more people.
In the Hangzhou Grand Theater, 15-yuan tickets are usually for Chinese operas, and are only offered to students and senior citizens.
It was the first time that low-price tickets were sold for a Western musical performance.
"We don't want to make music so exalted that it's beyond most people's reach," says Deng Jingshan, director of the orchestra. "Music belongs to the mass."
The Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra was established as an independent, non-profit institution subsidized by Hangzhou municipal government. Around 8 million yuan has been invested in musical instruments.
Each performance costs 170,000-180,000 yuan, Deng says.
Ticket sales account for relatively little income.
The orchestra numbers 76 performers. Around one third of them graduated from music conservatories in the United States, the United Kingdom, German, Austria and other countries. Another third hold master's and doctoral degrees and have won international competitions.
To attract first-rate talent, the municipal government allocated 100 million yuan for finding a new home for the orchestra, 15 million yuan annually in salaries and rent subsidies. Deng says paying orchestra members' rent is a first for China. It's a young orchestra, the average age around 25 years.
"Everyone is active and so are the leaders, they are open to new ideas," says Zhai Huili, the principal cellist. "Being part of the orchestra is like creating our own business."
The aim is to make the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra a first-class orchestra, with a repertoire of 1,000 classical works within three to five years.
It is expected to perform at least 80 times a year.
The first part of the 2009-10 season will run through next July. There will be around 20 performances, around 80 percent of which are in the Hangzhou Grand Theater and the rest in the Hangzhou Theater.
"Butterfly Lovers Concerto"
Date: September 16, 7:30pm
Chamber music concert
Date: October 1-2, 7:30pm
Grand Canal Symphony Concert, including "Yellow River Cantata" and "Ode to the Red Flag"
Date: October 13-14, 7:30pm
Venue: Hangzhou Grand Theater, 66 Zhijiang Rd E.
Tickets: 15-120 yuan
Tel: 800-857-1780
Booking on the theater's English Website:
www.hzdjy.com/english/ticket.asp
How to get there:
Take K84, K517 and stop at the Hangzhou Grand Theater;
Take B2 to the Citizen Center stop.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
