China NCPA Orchestra Marks Its 15th Anniversary with Its First Ever European Tour

©️Photo by Wang Xiaojing

The China NCPA Orchestra (NCPAO) is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a tour to some of Europe’s leading festivals. The NCPAO is the resident orchestra of the spectacular National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and, since its founding in 2010, has established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country and earned an international reputation through extensive touring and recordings.

Through its demanding schedule of both concert and opera performances, the Orchestra has served as a major cultural powerhouse, propelling China's musical landscape forward since its establishment. In this capacity, the Orchestra has performed in over 70 NCPA opera productions, making it one of the few leading orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden, to regularly play in both the concert hall and the opera pit. The Orchestra presents over 100 concerts a year to a live audience of around 200,000 people and an online concert series drawing an average audience of 20 million viewers.

Appointed Chief Conductor in 2012 and Music Director since 2017, Lü Jia has been instrumental in raising the Orchestra’s excellence and creative programming. His recordings of all Bruckner symphonies with the Orchestra have received widespread international acclaim. Recently, Gramophone magazine in a survey of recordings of Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony praised their recording as “a stimulating and impressive reading…a highlight of the performance is the combination of vigour and sensitivity that Lü secures from his Beijing-based players, especially in the Scherzo and Trio”.

Recently announced as the next Music Director of La Scala, Milan, Myung-Whun Chung will conduct a programme of Chinese and French music with the Chopin International Piano Competition winner Bruce Liu as soloist.

The programme begins with Wu Xing (The Five Elements) by Qigang Chen, a ten-minute work comprising five short portrayals of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Then, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, which was stylistically inspired by Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony which is performed after the interval in Edinburgh and Santander. In Saffron Hall, Koblenz and Hamburg, the second half will consist of sections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suites.

From August 6 – 15, the NCPAO will tour to the Edinburgh International Festival, Saffron Hall, the Festival Internacional Santander, Internationales Musikfestival Koblenz and the Elbphilharmonie Summer Festival.

Ren Xiaolong, the NCPAO’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Based in the capital city of a country often regarded as the future of classical music, The China NCPA Orchestra is committed to reshaping China’s music life as well as bringing the power of classical music to audiences across the world. Therefore, our first European tour is the perfect way to celebrate our 15th anniversary. With Maestro Chung and Bruce Liu, our musicians are bringing a distinctively creative programme that combines French romantic works and contemporary Chinese music. We look forward to meeting all audiences across Europe in August.”

Maestro Myung-Whun Chung commented:

“I have long cherished my appearances with the NCPAO. They are an orchestra that truly listens to each other, has a voracious appetite for new repertoire and for connecting with listeners. Being able to play both orchestral and operatic repertoire gives them a versatility and level of excellence that ensures each performance is thrilling. I’m very excited about this tour!”