On May 1
st, 2023, NCPA May Festival 2023 will kick off again after the interval of one year. As one of the iconic art festivals of the NCPA for more than ten years, NCPA May Festival 2023 will be themed with “Dedication of Music”, bring together prestigious Chinese and foreign soloists, shed light on the essential classics, give full play to the important role of the NCPA as a platform, and offer a cordial and striking art carnival for musicians and music fans.
On April 14th, famous violinist Siqing Lu, Artistic Director of NCPA May Festival 2023, WANG Luli, Deputy Director of Programme Management Department of NCPA, and TANG Ning, head of programme operation team of China NCPA Orchestra attended press conference of NCPA May Festival 2023. They jointly explained the overall schedule and highlights of this upcoming festival.
On May 1st-2nd, NCPA May Festival 2023 will begin with two specially-arranged concerts entitled “Bows and Horns”, which will be performed by renowned violinist Siqing Lu as lead artist, QIN Liwei, SUN Yingdi, HUANG Mengla, WANG Xiaomao, SU Zhen, LI Yuhe, other soloists and conductor ZHANG Yi in cooperation with Chamber Orchestra of National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra. They will unfold a big picture of Chinese and foreign masterpieces from the Baroque Period, the late Romanticism Period to the modern and contemporary times.
On May 9th-17th, Vienna-based piano master Rudolf Buchbinder will hold seven recitals in nine days, providing authoritative rendition for the complete set of piano sonatas by Beethoven. Craze for Beethoven’s music will be once again overwhelming in Beijing. According to Buchbinder, “Over the years, I have developed close, mutual-trust and enjoyable relationship with the NCPA. For me, playing 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven in this meaningful landmark building will be also a rare journey. I have dedicated my life to those unique and brilliant works steeped in aesthetic instinct and people orientation. I hereby invite all of you to join me on this musical journey”.
On May 21
st, French violinist Renaud Capuçon and pianist Guillaume Bellom will perform violin sonatas by Debussy, Ravel and Franck in a special concert of French works.
On May 27th, WANG Jian, Chinese cellist with great reputation in the international music circle, will also perform three cello unaccompanied suites by Bach, thereby concluding NCPA May Festival 2023 with melodious notes.
Since its inception in 2009, NCPA May Festival has been committed to popularizing and promoting chamber music in the past decade. Through continuous exploration of performance design and consistent adherence to artistic standards, a series of top-notch chamber music concerts have been delivered to the audiences so that increasing audiences can appreciate the charm of chamber music. NCPA May Festival 2023 will keep on “chamber music gene” and consist of many wonderful chamber music performances on more dimensions.
As the artistic director of NCPA May Festival, Siqing Lu will not only contribute to the opening concerts entitled “Feast of Bow and String”, but also cooperate with Li-wei Qin and SUN Yingdi to play the works of Rachmaninoff and Brahms in a concert of China Trio. Besides, Siqing Lu will also hold a recital on the works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.
The Shanghai Quartet is also a frequenter at NCPA May Festival. It will feature a classicist repertoire at the festival, with the works ranging from Haydn, Mozart to Beethoven. Under the baton of HAN Xiaoguang, the Shanghai Quartet will create a special “Orchestra Triptych” together with China NCPA Orchestra. A violin and piano duo, performed by violinist Tymur Melnyk and pianist Patrick Lechner from the Yehudi Menuhin School Qingdao, will also focus on well-known chamber music works.
As the backbone of the NCPA artistic production, China NCPA Orchestra will certainly root for NCPA May Festival 2023. In addition to the cooperation with the Shanghai Quartet, China NCPA Orchestra will also join hands with traditional Chinese music elites ZHANG Weiliang, LI Jia and YU Ziqi for a chamber music concert featuring the blend of Chinese and foreign music. Under the baton of assistant conductor SUN Yifan, Toru Takemitsu, Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern and Béla Bartók’s brand-new modern works will resound.
Beijing Symphony Orchestra, China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, Beijing Chinese Orchestra, Qingxin Baroque Orchestra and Western End Philharmonic will also demonstrate their skills under the rhythm of the festival. They will radiate the charms of music from multiple perspectives and satisfy the audiences with unique watching experience through carefully arranged classics and new-style adaptations.
On the closing night of NCPA May Festival 2023, jazz will return to the stage as an impressive performance form like “Midnight Rose”. The audiences will be absorbed in “Peach Blossom Rhythm” created by zhongruan artist FENG Mantian and Golden Buddha Jazz Band and savour the unique glamour of jazz music in the atmosphere of early summer.