Published: 01 June 2012
Category: Tours & Projects

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales makes its first visit to China this July for its debut China tour with Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer. The orchestra will visit five cities including Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou for six performances, and performs two varied programmes throughout the tour, showcasing its diverse repertoire. Programme one includes well-known orchestral works from Mozart to Bernstein and features two of the orchestra’s principal players performing clarinet and horn concerti. Programme two features Chinese composer Qigang Chen’s The Five Elements and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

The tour begins on 6 July at Tianjin's new concert hall. The orchestra then travels to Beijing for two concerts at the opera house at the National Centre for the Performing Arts as part of its 'Roaming about Classics' series. The concerts will be broadcast live on Chinese radio, television and streamed live via large screens in Beijing, including two screens in Tiananmen Square. After Beijing, the orchestra travels to Shanghai to close Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre’s 2011/12 season. The tour concludes with two performances in the south of China, at Shenzhen Concert Hall and Guangzhou’s Xinghai Concert Hall.

In December 2012 the Royal Scottish National Orchestra embarks on its debut tour of China for a series of concerts with a Scottish twist. Departing just after the Christmas, the tour begins in the south at the Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall on 30 December, followed by two concerts at the Shenzhen Concert Hall on New Year’s Eve. The second concert, a  New Year Gala featuring polkas, waltzes and Auld Lang Syne, will include a piper in traditional Scots dress.

The next stop at the start of 2013 is Beijing, where the orchestra will perform at the National Centre for Performing Arts on 2 January and to Tianjin to perform at the newly opened Grand Theatre on 3 January. The tour the travels south to Macau where the final concert on 5 January will take place at the Cultural Centre of Macau. The tour is Peter Oundjian’s debut tour with the orchestra as its newly appointed Music Director.

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