On April 10^th, the NCPA unveiled the programme for its 2025 May Festival at a press conference. Under the theme “Music Medley in Brilliance,” this year’s festival will run from May 1^st to 25^th, featuring 27 concerts by world-renowned artists and orchestras at the NCPA and Beijing Performing Arts Centre. Audiences can expect a vibrant celebration of chamber music, blending timeless traditions with innovative interpretations.


The press conference was attended by violinist Siqing Lu, Artistic Director of the NCPA May Festival, cellist Jan Vogler, pianist CHEN Sa, pianist SUN Yingdi, harpsichordist, pipe organ artist SHEN Fanxiu and other artists, as well as WANG Luli, Deputy Head of the NCPA Department of Programme Management, and TANG Ning, Leader of the Programme Operations Group of China NCPA Orchestra. They shared this year’s repertoire and highlights.

The NCPA May Festival 2025 will still kick off with “Bows and Strings”, a special concert much-liked by the audience. It will be rounded off with a cello solo concert given by WANG Jian, a famous overseas Chinese cellist. During the festival, 27 concerts will be held for a rendition of chamber music classics considered fantastic in the history of Chinese and foreign music. Masterpieces by famous composers, such as Bach, Handel and Shostakovich, will be performed at the following concerts to further highlight “chamber music” as the gene of the NCPA May Festival. At the same time, the festival will present other styles of music including jazz trumpet music, classic guitar music, folk chamber music and a cappella to build an immersive “music kaleidoscope” for music lovers.

After that, the Orchestre National de France will share the stage with pianist LIU Xiaoyu under the leadership of Cristian Măcelaru. Then there will be more blockbusting performances, given by The King’s Singers, Borodin Quartet, Major Trio, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Accademia Bizantina, well-known classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić, jazz trumpet virtuoso Chris Botti and other world-famous ensembles and artists, respectively. Meanwhile, leading Chinese orchestras, including the China NCPA Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra and Beijing Chinese Orchestra, will render picturesque styles of chamber music.

At the press conference, Siqing Lu, SUN Yingdi and SHEN Fanxiu, who will get deeply involved in the “Bows and Strings”, were the first three artists to share their impressive memories of the May Festival. They also talked about the innovations of “Bows and Strings V”. According to them, the new work Four Seasons in China will be played in striking contrast to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Four Seasons in China is a violin concerto suite composed by young composer WEN Zi’yang, commissioned by “Major Music” in honour of violinist Siqing Lu. Early this year, Siqing Lu conducted the Major Ensemble in successfully staging these two “Four Seasons”, which were born 300 years apart. When it came to this work, Siqing Lu invited young violinist HE Shucong, Concertmaster of the Major Ensemble, to work with the other members of the Major Ensemble - MAI Tianlong, YU Wei, WANG Zhefeng and ZHU Xinyue, who are also members of the Vivave Quartet or Duke String Quartet, in playing the first movement of “Spring”, part of Four Seasons in China. The depiction of lunar February in the melody, a scene where willows are swaying in spring mist and caressing the shore, will make this year’s “Bows and Strings” more attractive.

Then cellist Jan Vogler fondly recalled his return to the NCPA in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic, shared his feelings about playing a vital role in several performances at the upcoming May Festival, and chatted freely with pianist CHEN Sa on their expectations for cooperation.

TANG Ning, Leader of the Programme Operations Group of China NCPA Orchestra, reviewed the Orchestra’s outstanding performance at the May Festival and previewed what they would soon present at this year’s May Festival - “A Decade of Calling Horns” and “The Hues of France”, two pieces of well-orchestrated chamber music.

WANG Luli, Deputy Head of the NCPA Department of Programme Management, said that over the past 15 years, the May Festival has been centred on chamber music for the purpose that elegant art should reach a wider audience through artist/ensemble cooperation, multi-style exploration and art popularisation. Themed “Music Medley in Brilliance”, this year’s May Festival will present more styles of music, including jazz, classical guitar music and a cappella, with chamber music as the core. The NCPA, “a performing arts centre with three locations”, will “go out” to give outreach performances to entertain more people with the best music.

Now the NCPA May Festival 2025 is just at hand. From classical music to more styles of music, and from the traditional to the modern, the 25-day music carnival will be held in a variety of forms to take the audience to a series of unforgettable journeys of art.