ORCHESTRA UNVEILS AMBITIOUS NEW SEASON

In the early 1990s, when Russian conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky first came to China to conduct Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No 7 in C Major, Op 60, also known as the "Leningrad" Symphony, musicians of the Central Philharmonic Society, now the China National Symphony Orchestra, spent two weeks — and perhaps longer — preparing for the monumental work.

Three decades later, the same symphony offers a striking measure of how far Chinese orchestras have come.

"When the China Philharmonic Orchestra performs a work like this today, it may take just four rehearsals to put it together," says Yu Long, the orchestra's artistic director and principal conductor. "That shows how much our orchestral musicianship has progressed over the past few decades."

Yu will conduct the symphony on June 11, 2027, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, as part of the orchestra's 2026-27 season.

The performance will be among the season's major engagements with the music of Shostakovich, whose 120th birth anniversary the orchestra will commemorate in its new season.

His 7th, 8th, 10th and 13th symphonies will feature across the season, offering different perspectives on a composer whose music was shaped by the upheavals of the 20th century.

For Yu, however, the season is not simply an exercise in revisiting the canon.

"Beyond the classics, we hope to embark on further exploration and pursue musical dialogue between people," he says.

Running from Sept 19, 2026, to June 26, 2027, the new season comprises 19 programs, bringing together Chinese and international conductors, soloists and emerging musicians. It will move from Baroque opera to contemporary music, with the orchestra seeking to broaden its repertoire while revisiting works connected to its own history.

On Oct 18, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will present Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto at the 29th Beijing Music Festival, marking the Chinese premiere of the Baroque opera. In a semi-staged production, the opera follows the turbulent relationship between Roman general Julius Caesar and Egyptian queen Cleopatra, weaving together power, revenge, love and political intrigue.

With elaborate scenery stripped away, the production will place the focus on Handel's virtuosic arias and the emotional force of the singers and orchestra, allowing the music and drama to take center stage.

The China Philharmonic Orchestra is no stranger to Baroque music, having previously performed works by Handel and Bach, including Handel's full opera Semele. Its upcoming Giulio Cesare in Egitto, however, marks another significant venture into the world of Baroque opera, this time under the baton of renowned Baroque specialist Laurence Cummings, the British harpsichordist, organist, and conductor, who is the music director of the Academy of Ancient Music — one of the leading period-instrument ensembles — which is based in Cambridge, England.

"This is a rare work that audiences don't often have the opportunity to hear. To have it presented at the Beijing Music Festival, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra taking the lead in performing it, is a landmark moment. It is a work that is truly worth hearing," says Yu.

Supporting promising young Chinese musicians and giving them opportunities to perform on major stages has long been a focus of the China Philharmonic Orchestra. The new season continues that commitment, with several young pianists taking prominent roles.

At the season-opening concert on Sept 19, pianist Wang Liya, who took first prize at the 74th ARD International Music Competition in 2025, made her debut with the orchestra, performing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The concert also had the renowned cellist Wang Jian perform Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op 104, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yu.

Yu sees the pairing of Wang Liya and Wang Jian as a meeting between musicians from different generations.

At the season-closing concert on June 26, 2027, Wang Zitong, the third prize winner at the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 2025, will play Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1 in E-flat Major, S 124.

A group of distinguished musicians, each with a distinct artistic perspective, will bring their own interpretations to collaborations with the orchestra.

On Oct 25, Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say will join the China Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Lyu Shao-chia at Beijing's Poly Theatre for a program featuring Mother Earth, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op 105, composed by Say, which is a contemporary work written in response to the fragility of the natural world and places the piano at the center of a musical exploration of the Earth and humanity's relationship with it. Say will perform his own work as soloist.

The second half will turn to Sibelius' Lemminkainen Suite, inspired by Finland's national epic, the Kalevala.

French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet will play Camille Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No 5 in F Major, Op 103 with the orchestra under the baton of conductor Zhang Jiemin on Dec 12, 2026.

On Dec 20, violinist Lyu Siqing will play Dvorak's Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op 53, and Shostakovich's Symphony No 8 in C Minor, Op 65 in a concert at the NCPA with the orchestra under the baton of Yu Feng. Together, the two works offer a striking contrast — from Dvorak's melodic lyricism to Shostakovich's stark wartime drama — while placing two leading Chinese musicians at the center of an evening devoted to the expressive possibilities of the orchestra and soloist.

Chinese music will remain central to the orchestra's programming. Yu Long will revisit Chen Qigang's La joie de la souffrance, or The Joy of Suffering, a violin and orchestra work inspired by the traditional melody Yangguan Sandie, with Chinese-American violinist Nancy Zhou. At the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, Zhou was the first finalist to take the stage, performing La joie de la souffrance.

Yu Long also has a special connection with the piece since he conducted the world premiere of the work with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017.

Some musical partnerships take years to build. Others go back to childhood. Conductor Yu Long has known violinist Weigang Li and violist Honggang Li since the brothers were children, when they were only about 3 years old.

Decades later, the three musicians will meet again on stage at the NCPA on Nov 22, bringing that long familiarity to two works that could hardly be more different in character.

The first half will feature Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K 364, with Weigang Li on violin and Honggang Li on viola. Written for two solo strings, the work is built around an intimate musical dialogue between the instruments — an exchange of melodies, responses and shared phrases that will take on an added dimension in the hands of two brothers who have spent a lifetime making music together.

"This is the first time I've had the opportunity to share the stage with the two brothers in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante," Yu Long says.

The program will then turn to Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 in E Minor, Op 93, one of the Russian composer's most powerful symphonic works. Written in 1953, the symphony moves between tension, violence, irony and moments of striking lyricism, creating a stark contrast with Mozart's elegance and balance.

The orchestra will also celebrate its 27th anniversary with a special concert on May 25, 2027.

According to Zhang Chenxiao, the Party secretary of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, a new concert hall is expected to be unveiled in Beijing in 2027, which will serve as the China Philharmonic Orchestra's first permanent residency.