China Philharmonic Orchestra performs in Shanghai

The China Philharmonic Orchestra, the first symphony orchestra in China to release 100 CDs of live recordings, visited Shanghai to start the New Year with a concert especially designed for the city.

The concert at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center was the Beijing-based orchestra's first in Shanghai in eight years. The musicians played Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, as well as four Chinese musical pieces, including the famous concerto "Butterfly Lovers", and "Ode to the Red Flag," which Lu Qiming composed in 1965 and has since become one of China's most noted symphonic pieces. Some foreign spectators called the music unique.

German spectator Hans Toepper said, "It's the first time that I heard these pieces, but the orchestra plays quite well. So I think I like the performance. It's a very good orchestra. I've been to Beijing many times, and I heard the orchestra before. I really like it."

The orchestra's artistic director and conductor was born and educated in Shanghai. He says those Chinese pieces were chosen especially for the orchestra's Shanghai concert, because they were all composed or first performed by artists from the city.

Yu Long, artistic director of China Philharmonic Orchestra, said, "When I left Shanghai, I thought a lot about Shanghai's contribution to China's music culture. That's why we performed those pieces to express our respects to the city. Compared with the Shanghai Symphony's elegance, the China Philharmonic tries to show the power and passion of this music."

The China Philharmonic's 2009 version of "Butterfly Lovers" and its 2010 performance of "Ode to the Red Flag" are among the 100 CDs of the orchestra's live recordings. Yu says the CDs contain 213 classic works from 105 of the China Philharmonic's concerts, and calls them the best selection of the more than 800 performances in the orchestra's 13-year history. At a CD signing ceremony after the concert, some local music lovers said they were thrilled to see those CDs available in Shanghai.

Audience Hu Kaixi said, "The China Philharmonic performs very well. I am happy that I bought the CDs for my collection, and I am happy to have the director's autograph."

The China Philharmonic's artistic director says the collection will try to win some awards for best recordings at next year's Grammies. Yu is also the music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and says it will record all its future performances and try to have its own 100 CDs soon.

Reporter: "Yu says he hopes that both the China Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra can continue their leading positions in the field. And this year, in addition to their regular concert schedules, the China Philharmonic will co-produce operas with the Salzburg Festival, and the Shanghai Symphony will host a musical institute in cooperation with the New York Philharmonic."