With Principal Conductor Jing Huan leading Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO), this concert opens with Instants d'un Opéra de Pékin commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) for the inauguration of its new concert hall. It evokes the unique sound world and dramatic aesthetics of Peking

Opera. Itinéraire d'une illusion is Chen's recent work which reflects over a man's years of ups and downs and the illusory nature of life.

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, a pioneer of Romantic instrumental music in France. A successful father figure in French music for more than half a century, he lived to a ripe old age and had his own share of misfortunes. Saint-Saëns' two violin concertos, though wide apart in their fame, are both typical of Saint-Saëns' French style: pleasant, tuneful and dramatic.

They will be performed at this concert respectively by Prof. Vera Tsu, the former concertmistress of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Liu Ming, the youngest concertmistress of SSO, who was also her student. With Saint-Saëns and Qigang Chen side by side, one has a bite of French aesthetics in different times and reflected in different cultural backgrounds. Qigang Chen Instants d'un Opéra de Pékin, Ouverture symphonique (2014)

Camille Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No.3 in b minor, Op.61

I.Allegro non troppo

II.Andantino quasi allegretto

III.Molto moderato e maestoso

—Intermission—

Camille Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No.2 in C Major, Op.58

I.Allegro moderato e maestoso

II.Andante espressivo

III.Allegro scherzando, quasi allegretto

Chen Qigang Itinéraire d'une illusion (2017)

Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra

Violin: Vera Tsu Weiling, Ming Liu

Orchestra: Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Jing Huan