Berlin orchestra sets a masterful tone

These concerts and public events will take members of the German orchestra to "theaters, school campuses, cultural landmarks and other popular locations in Shanghai," says Li Ming, president of the center for the arts festival. "From the most dedicated music lovers to ordinary folks, from professional instrumentalists to young music students, everyone in the city will have the opportunity to encounter the musicians during their stay."

On the first concert on Wednesday, the Berliner Philharmoniker performed under the baton of Petrenko, chief conductor and artistic director of the company since the 2019/20 season, at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the same repertoire as its end-of-season concert at Waldbuhne in Berlin on June 22, a grand outdoor event attended by more than 22,000 spectators.

Chinese pianist Yuja Wang has collaborated with the Berliner Philharmoniker often and played Sergei Prokofiev's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 1 in D major at the concert. On Saturday Wang will join the company again to play Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 in G major.

The unique sound of the Berliner Philharmoniker has been built over many decades and many generations of artists in cooperation with the music directors, according to Noah Bendix-Balgley, the first concertmaster of the company.

In the Berlin Philharmonic, there's a great tradition of individual creativity and thinking about the orchestra as a sort of chamber music, he tells China Daily. "There's so much personality and individual brilliance among the members and we try to bring that together."