On October 22^nd, the world celebrated Staatskapelle Dresden gave a performance at the NCPA Concert Hall under the baton of maestro Christian Thielemann, showing the audience its virtuosity in the interpretation of German and Austrian symphonies.

Christian Thielemann conducted the Staatskapelle Dresden on October 22^nd.

Christian Thielemann visited NCPA with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra respectively in 2012 and 2013, and performed classic music pieces by Wagner, Bruckner, Brahms and Beethoven, gaining popularity among many music lovers in Beijing. This year, he will perform works by Robert Schumann, another German Romantic virtuoso of the 19^th Century. And last week, in his capacity as Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, Thielemann conducted Schumann’s four symphonies from start to finish - twice at the Semperoper, gaining high acclaim.

The Staatskapelle Dresden performed two works of Schumann.

At the concert, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden deeply parsed Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 and Symphony No. 2, Op. 61. Maestro Thielemann interpreted these two pieces by the same composer in different ways, revealing their respective and unique styles.

After the concert, three audiences from Austria, Ireland and Japan received interviews from the press.

Dr. Armin Kammel, vice chairman of International Investment Funds Association said, "I think the performance was excellent with high-quality music. The conductor is an international capacity and the fact that he will be conducting the 2019 New Year's concert speaks for itself."

Mr. Pat Lardner, Chief Executive of Irish Funds, also enjoyed the concert. "I thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic evening at the NCPA—it is a magnificent venue and the quality of the facilities, in particular the acoustics in the auditorium, really enhanced my enjoyment of the concert. Given the strength and diversity of the skills and facilities at the NCPA and the availability of direct flights between Beijing and Dublin, I believe there is an opportunity to build deeper relationships and broader cultural exchange with countries like Ireland. This could be done by encouraging collaborations in areas like traditional music (traditional Chinese music and traditional Irish music) around national celebrations like Chinese New Year (in Ireland) and Saint Patricks’ Day (in China), linking in other areas where cultural collaboration exist (for example the Confucius Institute of Ireland at University College Dublin)", he said.

Mr. Junko Sunaga from Japanese Investment Trusts Association commented, “The concert was excellent! I think that NCPA could provide various opportunities to exchange multiple countries' culture and art. For example, art exhibition, traditional music and so on.”

Orchestre National de France is to stage performance at the NCPA.

On October 27^th, one more amazing performance will be given at the “NCPA Pure Classical 2018”. The famous French impressionists’ masterpieces will be performed by well-known flautist Emmanuel Pahud and the Orchestre National de France under conductor Emmanuel Krivine’s baton.

Pahud, born in 1970, joined the Berliner Philharmoniker at the age of 22, and was promoted to Chief Flautist by conductor Abbado when he turned 23. He has held this post ever since. At the upcoming “NCPA Pure Classical” concert, Pahud will play Rampal’s solo Flute Concerto, in collaboration with the Orchestre National de France under French conductor Emmanuel Krivine’s baton. The other piece in the first half is Ravel’s Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte for orchestra adopted from the piano piece, which is one of Ravel’s masterpieces.

Flautist Emmanuel Pahud

In the second half, the Orchestre National de France will play Ravel’s Une Barque Sur L'ocean and Debussy’s La Mer under Krivine’s baton. Une Barque Sur L'ocean, from the piano suit Miroirs for orchestra, is reminiscent of a lonely boat drifting with the tide on the sea. Its counterpart La Mer was called “symphonic sketch” by Debussy himself. This piece contains massive music elements used to make underwater sounds to imitate the heaving of the sea. It is reminiscent of Japanese Ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Conductor Emmanuel Krivine

In the coming month, three top music orchestras from Berlin will appear at the NCPA to lead the audience into the Berlin symphonic world. These three ensembles are the prestigious Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, which is making its debut at the NCPA, and Berliner Philharmoniker, a leader in the world’s symphonic circles. While enjoying the classics by Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven and Mahler, the audience can feel the top German orchestras’ profound understanding of the German and Austrian musical genes and numerous charms of Berlin’s music culture.