Berlin orchestra sets a masterful tone

The Berliner Philharmoniker begins its 10-day residence in Shanghai this week from Monday to next Tuesday. The prestigious orchestra from Germany will join hands with Chinese pianist Yuja Wang to present 11 concerts, including four symphonic performances, and a series of educational projects around the city.

This is the first time the 142-year-old German symphony will hold a residency program in China. More than 6,000 tickets for four symphony concerts sold out within five minutes in April, when ticket sales kicked off, according to the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, host of the program. The festival also revealed that more than 40 percent of the ticket buyers were not from Shanghai, but 21 other provinces and cities across China and abroad.

This is the fourth time the Berliner Philharmoniker will perform in Shanghai and its sixth visit to China. Andrea Zietzschmann, general manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, is impressed with China's excitement for the orchestra and the growing public enthusiasm for classical music, especially among young audiences. She says that a series of outstanding musicians have come from China, such as Yuja Wang and Lang Lang, and the orchestra received its first Chinese musician in the 2019/20 season. Thirty-year-old Mei Diyang is the first viola principal of the company from China.

"We really want to create an impact in China," Zietzschmann tells China Daily on Monday.

In contrast to the usual tour schedule when the company would stay no more than 2 days in a city, the residency allows it to present "a whole showcase of the Berliner Philharmoniker and what we do at home". She says: "We are not only bringing four symphonic concerts and a wide repertoire with our music director Kirill Petrenko, but we will also perform seven chamber concerts and a lot of educational activities.

"The whole idea and aim is to get to know the people of Shanghai better, to create friendship, to have a good exchange, and to give an idea of what the orchestra is like in different aspects."