Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - “It is...a great honor to be able to play for the Holy Father,” the Director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Yu Long, told Reuters news agency, as he prepares for the Concert that will take place May 7, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. “It is a very special concert. Music is a universal language that can make a contribution to world peace, even more than diplomacy. I am glad that the Holy Father will be able to fully appreciate the Chinese culture and Chinese musicians. This concert is an opportunity for the world to rediscover China.” Accompanied by the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, in addition to Mozart’s “Requiem” the musicians will also perform the famous work entitled, “Mo Li Hua” (Jasmine), a song of Chinese folklore that the composer Giacomo Puccini inserted into his famous opera “Turandot.”
The China Philharmonic Orchestra began May 25, 2000 and is a national symphony orchestra with top-flight Chinese musicians, the majority of which have studied in other countries, like its Director Yu Long. The orchestra has performed all kinds of works at the concert for the 100th anniversary of the death of Antonin Dvorak, for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, and for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dimitry Dmitrievitch Shostakovitch. Their music has been heard from Japan and South Korea to the United States of America, as well as across Europe (Paris, Vienna...).
In December of 2004, the China Philharmonic Orchestra gave a Christmas Concert for members of the Italian Senate, which was aired live in Europe and across the world. Between February and April 2005, the group went on an unprecedented tour, performing in 22 concerts in all different cities from Slovenia and Germany to Canada and the United States.
New York's Lincoln Center, London’s Barbican, the Berlin Philarmonie, l’Opéra National de Paris have all hosted the Chinese musicians, who are critically-acclaimed by prestigious publications such as: The New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Times. They have also performed with such world-renowned figures as Krzysztof Penderecki, José Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Ashkenazy…
The Shanghai Opera House Chorus, founded in 1950, is one of the most qualified in the opera world. Among their repertoire are Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot, Romeo and Juliet, Il pipistrello, Aida, Faust, Beethoven’s “9th Symphony,” Haydn’s “Creation,” Handel’s “Messiah,” and Verdi’s “Requiem.” The Chorus has taken up the role of ambassador of the Chinese culture and of a quality musical performance in over 30 countries across the world.
China Philharmonic Orchestra Director Yu Long already has experience conducting in the churches in China. He conducted the Orchestra in its performance of Mozart’s Requiem in the Parish of Saint Joseph, in downtown Beijing and in collaboration with the Milan Opera House in 2006, on the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart. On April 8, they gave a Concert in the Cathedral of the Diocese of Shang Hai, in honor of the 400th anniversary of the evangelization of the Diocese, to raise funds for the restoration of the church itself. There they performed the Requiem and Mo Li Hua. According to Yu Long, “that performance prepared the way for the concert in the Vatican.” “We hope that the performance at the Vatican will be a historic event in the area of cultural interchange,” the conductor concluded. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 5/5/2008; righe 45, parole 559)
