The annual NCPA “Roam about the Classics” is arriving in time! During 28 days from July 3^rd to 30^th, ten top music ensembles from home and abroad will take the stage in turns to give 13 concerts different in style. Themed “Golden Time”, this year’s Roam about the Classics features not only great classics brought by top international orchestras, but also innovative Chinese works. Apart from magnificent symphonic poems, exquisite and unique chamber and brass music will also be presented. Across almost the entire month of July, this classical music marathon will become the most unmissable artistic scenery in Beijing this summer.

The “Roam about the Classics” was launched in 2009. Every July, classical music takes off its formal attire at the NCPA to try taking on a free and romantic look in new tones. The “Roam about the Classics” 2025 will be visited by three world-renowned orchestras, which will feature at the opening and closing concerts. On the night of July 3^rd, Maestro Jonathan Nott will raise his baton over the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and cooperate with talented pianist George Li to kick off the “Roam about the Classics”. This well-established Swiss orchestra will present Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and other classics. Jonathan Nott is a recognised authoritative interpreter of German and Austrian music in contemporary times, honoured as “Karajan of the 21^st century” by the media. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande visited the NCPA in 2016 and 2019. After a six-year hiatus, they are paying a third visit to the NCPA to give a must-see performance!


On July 9^th and 10^th, conductor Kent Nagano will lead the Europe-renowned Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg to work with Blechacz, the champion of the International Chopin Piano Competition and a Grand Slam winner, to interpret authentic German and Austrian music on two nights in a row. Their first concert features classics by Mozart and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. The next day’s concert features Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Symphony No. 7, which will be rendered in commemoration of the 255^th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Music lovers can indulge themselves in the great strength and rich repertoire of this prestigious ensemble.


At the closing concert held on the night of July 30^th, conductor Gianandrea Noseda will appear with the vibrant National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) and violinist Ray Chen to give a rendition of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, one of the “Four Great Violin Concertos”. Unlike Heifetz, who is keen on showcasing his “virtuosity”, or Mutter, “a romanticist”, Ray Chen gives an elegant and balanced performance as Mendelssohn expected. In the second half, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 will witness how these outstanding young musicians, aged 16 to 19, hold the classic in awe and make a breakthrough in it.


In addition to internationally renowned orchestras, native ensembles are also joining the “Roam about the Classics” for a happy time in midsummer. The China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra, China NCPA Orchestra, China Conservatory of Music Chinese Orchestra, National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Chinese Orchestra and Matrix Saxophone Ensemble will make stunning appearances on the stage one after another.

On the night of July 4^th, YANG Yang will conduct the China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra in giving a well-orchestrated symphonic concert to grandly commemorate the 190^th anniversary of the birth of French composer Saint-Saëns. Singers ZHAO Kehan and NIU Shasha will sing famous arias from the opera Samson et Dalila. As one of the best French symphonies composed in the 19^th century, Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony, a masterwork written in his twilight years, will also be staged with its stunning organ melodies and epic-like finale, hidden in which are the composer’s musical thoughts, to stir the souls of the audience.


On the night of July 6^th, Meng Su, a classical guitarist residing in the United States, will collaborate with the China NCPA Orchestra to present various styles of music spanning five centuries. Ancient Airs and Dances, a work composed in the late 16^th century that is rarely heard, Seven Desires, a mixture of traditional Chinese musical aesthetics and modern Western composing techniques by TAN Dun, a contemporary composer, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, one of the best pieces for guitar, Song of the Beatles, a nostalgic and sentimental rhyme… What will happen when the classical guitar talks with an orchestra?


ZHENG He, a navigator and diplomat in the Ming Dynasty, led a large fleet on his seven voyages to the Western Seas. In commemoration of the 620^th anniversary of his expedition, The First Person on the Sea - ZHENG He, a large-scale symphonic work, will be staged on 11^th to rebuild the magnificent epic of ZHENG He’s voyages. Singers JIN Zhengjian, LI Jingjing and XU Yang, reciter KANG Zhuang, China Conservatory of Music Chinese Orchestra and Beijing Musicians Association Choir will work together to visualise ZHENG He and his fleet’s maritime journey, including what they saw and heard abroad and how they fulfilled their peace mission, to pay a tribute to this great navigator in music. The concert will be conducted by Tsung Yeh, the first conductor in history to simultaneously serve as the music director of a Western orchestra and a Chinese orchestra.



On the night of 12^th, conductor JING Huan will join hands with the erhu artist GAO Bai, guzheng artist SU Chang and National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra to display the “charm of summer”. In the first half, the Oriental mood will find its typical expression in The Sun·Grand Dance, a piece for the huqin and orchestra, and Ru Shi, a guzheng concerto. In the second half, different styles of dance music will be performed to enkindle the rhythm of summer. LI Biao, a famous conductor and percussionist, will conduct the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra on July 15^th to ignite this summer night with music at a dynamic and passionate “Summer Carnival”. On July 23^rd, conductor CUI Hongjia will appear with the Beijing Chinese Orchestra to showcase the authentic folk flavour and voice of Beijing, with their elegant demeanour as a native orchestra to become visible in a Beijing-featured Chinese tone.



On July 16^th and 17^th, two concerts will be held on the “Golden Summer Trumpet” to show the charm of brass instruments. Andrea Giuffredi, a world-class trumpeter, is to offer a golden, exciting symphonic feast of brass music with the Brass Section of China NCPA Orchestra under his leadership. It is particularly noteworthy that the Matrix Saxophone Ensemble, which is full of vitality and fantasies, will give a concert at the Concert Hall of the Beijing Performing Arts Centre on the afternoon of 12^th. The modern saxophone, which is richly expressive, will make a sound with refreshing melodies in this new artistic landmark by the Grand Canal to distinctively regale the music fans on a weekend afternoon.


From the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande’s century-long heritage to the NYO-USA’s youthful vigour, and from Saint-Saëns’ romantic melody to the Matrix Saxophone Ensemble’s modern pulsation, the Roam about the Classics 2025 will last 28 days with a pleasant surprise prepared for each audience member who has great passion for the arts. The gate of music in summer will soon be opened, and you are expected to join us for this grand artistic event in midsummer!