International Percussion Festival 2016
Venue
Dates
Programme
Conductor
Artist
Presenter
A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, Op. 21 | Mendelssohn |
——Intermission—— | |
Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op. 65 | Shostakovich |
First Movement:adagio | |
Second Movement:allegretto | |
Third Movement:allegro non troppo | |
Forth Movement:largo | |
Fifth Movement:allegretto |
Li Biao began appearing on the stage as a conductor in 2011. Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and Lawrence Foster have given him great inspiration and support at beginning of his conductor career. In 2012, Beijing Symphony Orchestra named Li Biao the Artist-in-Residence and Principal Guest Conductor, a position established for the first time in the history of this orchestra. In 2014, Li Biao has appointed as Music Director and Principal Conductor of China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater Orchestra.
As conductor, he worked with more than 20 orchestras in Europe and China from 2011, such as: Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra, Marseille Opera Orchestra, Philharmonie der Nord-Westfalen, Neue-Brandenburg Philharmonie, Orchestra Dell‘Opera Di Parma, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Loh-Orchester Sonders Sondershausen, and many of China's famous symphony orchestra etc.
In 2013, Li was invited to conduct Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra for the opening concert in the 200th anniversary of Verdi's music festival. As the first Chinese conductor, he successfully conducted all Verdi works in the whole concert, received Italian media critical acclaim. Then he conducted Orchestra Dell’Opera Di Parma toured five cities in China for New Year Concert. Also, Li will as a guest conductor for this orchestra in 2015 season. April 2014, Li Biao worked together with Central Conservatory of Music School Opera center, completed the Opera production of Aida in Beijing Ploy Theater with a great success.
From May to June of 2014, Li Biao percussion group made debut tour to South America. The group has performed three weeks throughout the most prestige’s venue in South America such as, Teatro Solis (Montevideo, Uruguay), Teatro Municipal De Santiago (Santiago, Chile), Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (Rio, Brazil), Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Sociedade de Cultura Artística (S?o Paulo, Brazil) and Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo (Bogota, Columbia). The tour was a huge success and at the end of end of tour, the presenters have invited the group back for a 2016 tour. Due to the successful debut in South America, Li Biao percussion group has also received the invitation to tour Mexico in 2015. Li Biao percussion group will continue tour in China in July 2014. At the end of 2014, Li Biao will also perform as soloist with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Apart from many engagements with percussion soloist and ensemble, Li Biao also has many conducting concert in the next season; he will conduct the Macao Orchestra in 2nd half of 2014; continue conducting European orchestras. His first debut as conductor in South America are also in planning; orchestra such as Brasileira Sinfonica Orquestra, Argentina symphony orchestras, etc.
Beside all the overseas conducting projects, Li Biao as music director will continue work with his own orchestra to present a variety of program at new concert season in the prestige venue of Beijing, such as NCPA and Forbidden City concert hall.
Wu Wei, Sheng Virtuose and Professor at Shanghai Music Conservatory, born in China, studied at Shanghai Music Conservatory and Hanns Eisler Academy with a DAAD scholarship in Berlin, where he is now based. He has helped to develop the ancient instrument into an innovative force in contemporary music. He won German music prize “Musica Vitale“ and “Global Root“, “German Record Critics Award“, “Herald Angels Award 2011“ by Edinburgh International Festival, “International Classical Music Award 2015“ and “BBC Music Magazine Award 2015 ”for CD “Unsuk Chin's 3 Concertos” which he has recorded by German Gramophone. As a sheng soloist he has appeared at the world’s prestigious festivals and venues with many leading orchestras and ensembles, including Berlin Phil. Orchestra under Kent Nagano, Los Angeles Phil. Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, Radio France Phil. Orchestra and Seoul Phil. Orchestra under Myung-Whun Chung, BBC Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov, Royal Stockholm Phil.
He has given the world premieres of over 300 works (10 concertos for sheng) by composers such as Unsuk Chin, Jukka Tiensuu, Enjott Schneider, Toshio Hosokawa, Joerg Widmann etc.
China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing. Established in March 2010, the orchestra consists of highly accomplished musicians from around the world, who perform in more than a dozen opera productions presented by its home venue each year as well as in ballets and regular orchestral concerts in its own season. With a notably busy schedule, the young ensemble has fast established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country. Lü Jia took up the post of Chief Conductor in February 2012, succeeding Chen Zuohuang, the current Conductor Laureate, NCPA's Music Director and also one of the founders of the orchestra. Yuan Ding was appointed Assistant Conductor in the same year.
The NCPA Orchestra demonstrates an abiding commitment to the highest levels of artistic excellence and takes pride in its long-term collaborations with the finest musicians of our time. Artists associated with the orchestra in the past two years have included Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Gunter Herbig, Gilbert Varga, Lang Lang, Stephen Kovacevich, Leo Nucci, Yuja Wang and Han-Na Chang, among many others. Maestro Lorin Maazel praised the orchestra for its 'amazing professionalism and great passion in music'. After working with them in a series of concerts and the NCPA's new production of La Traviata in June 2010. Maestro Christoph Eschenbach also declared it 'one of the finest orchestras in Asia'.
In 2011 alone, the first season after its establishment, China NCPA Orchestra gained critical acclaim for its performances in NCPA's new productions of Tosca (directed by Giancarlo Del Monaco), The Barber of Seville (co-produced with Castleton Festival), Die Fledermaus, and a newly commissioned opera The Chinese Orphan. In addition, the orchestra also played a key part in NCPA's 2011 Gustav Mahler Project, performing his Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10 under the batons of Christoph Eschenbach, Yoel Levi, Jun Maerkl and Chen Zuohuang respectively. These were followed by performances of two Wagner operas in 2012, in their Chinese premieres, Der Fliegende Hollander andLohengrin. Most recently in 2013, the orchestra presented varied programmes marking major anniversaries of Wagner, Verdi and Britten, including a performance of the mammoth Ring without Words under the baton of its creator, Lorin Maazel. It continues to build on important partnerships with prominent musicians such as Mehta, Eschenbach, Ashkenazy, Placido Domingo and the pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.
Most recently, the NCPA Orchestra has flexed its wings on the international stage with high-profile touring work, receiving widespread international praise for its performances. In 2012, the orchestra was invited by Kissingen Summer Music Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and its first German tour continued with concerts in Nürnberg, Hamburg and Berlin, followed by appearances at the Sydney Opera House. In 2013, the orchestra undertook its first Asian tour with concerts in Singapore, Seoul and Macau. During the 2014/15 season, the orchestra has participated in NCPA's opera productions including Eugene Onegin, Aida and Cavalleria Rusticana, as well as appearing on concert stage with conductors and soloists such as Lü Jia, Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Myun-Whung Chung, Anthony Wit, Lang Lang, Wang Jian and Yuja Wang. The orchestra has completed its very first North American tour in November 2014, under the baton of its Chief Conductor Lü Jia.
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Booking hours9:30-18:00 (CST) Monday to Friday
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Dedicated to the staging of epic operas, ballets and dance dramas, the golden Opera House is considered the centerpiece of the NCPA. Its main tone is golden color, which looks glamorous and splendid. In the auditorium are the stalls and three higher levels of balconies, which can seat an audience of 2,207, including the venue of SRO. It is equipped with a modern stage that can be moved up/down/backward/forward or rotated, a ballet stage that can slant, and a rising orchestra pit for the triple winds orchestra. All the cutting-edge staging mechanism provides artists with enormous possibilities of creative performance.
Dedicated to the staging of epic operas, ballets and dance dramas, the golden Opera House is considered the centerpiece of the NCPA. Its main tone is golden color, which looks glamorous and splendid. In the auditorium are the stalls and three higher levels of balconies, which can seat an audience of 2,207, including the venue of SRO. It is equipped with a modern stage that can be moved up/down/backward/forward or rotated, a ballet stage that can slant, and a rising orchestra pit for the triple winds orchestra. All the cutting-edge staging mechanism provides artists with enormous possibilities of creative performance.