“ Best Beethoven concert!” — Staatskapelle Dresden China Tour 2015

The Staatskapelle Dresden, one of the Top 10 Orchestras in the world, visited China again.

Invited by the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Qintai Concert Hall, National Centre for the Performing Arts, and Tianjin Grand Theatre, the Staatskapelle Dresden, one of the Top 10 Orchestras in the world, visited China again from 9th to 14th November 2015. This time, the Staatskapelle Dresden was conducted by the world famous Maestro Myung-Whun Chung, and cooperated with the young and talented soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Müller. In total they gave five extraordinary concerts in China. Special thanks go to the support from our partners and to the tour title sponsor Volkswagen Import Phaeton.

The Staatskapelle Dresden is also one of the Top 10 Orchestra in the world which visited China most frequently in the past 10 years, and become more and more familiar with Chinese audience. Nine years ago in 2006 Maestro Chung first conducted the Staatskapelle Dresden in China. By this time they played masterpieces composed by Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart. The orchestra with its rich history of 467 years convinces they are the inheritor of the German and Austrian school of music.


Musicians of the Staatskapelle Dresden had to fly to China by different flights due to the strike of Lufthansa.
Musicians were very tired when they arrived in Shanghai, but also excited about the coming performances.

In Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Maestro Chung said ‘There are lots of excellent orchestras in the world, but not such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, which is very humanistic.’ The tickets of the Staatskapelle Dresden’s concert in Shanghai were sold out immediately. It’s the fourth time for the Staatskapelle Dresden to perform in the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre in the past ten years, so they noticed a huge change in Shanghai and its audiences in the past time. The audiences were very excited about their performances, and Maestro  Chung even bowed four times in the first half of the concert as well as at the end. The General Manager of Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre Mr. Hongmin Lin praised their performance as ‘The best live Beethoven Symphony No.2’.


There is a sticker when Maestro Chung conducted the Staatskapelle Dresden
in Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre in 2006, which is still on one of his cases.

This time, the Staatskapelle Dresden first toured to Wuhan and performed at the closing concert of The Fourth Qin Tai Music Festival. Maestro Chung conducted the orchestra without referring to scores. And the wonderful performance of the orchestra made the audiences extremely excited.

The orchestra’s third and fourth concerts were in Beijing. It’s the fifth time for the orchestra to come here and perform in the National Centre for the Performing Arts. The Staatskapelle Dresden prepared two different programs for each day and the audiences were completely indulged in the concerts.


From left to right: Mr. Jan Nast, Ms. Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Maestro Myung-Whun Chung, Mr. Jiatong Wu

Beethoven once said the Staatskapelle Dresden is the Best European Orchestra and it is true. On November13th, the orchestra played Beethoven’s masterpieces the Symphony No. 2 and the Symphony No.3. Under Maestro Chung’s conduction, their music was full of power and happiness, and showed the tradition of German and Austrian school. In the second concert, Maestro Chung let the curtain call five times and said ’Thank you’ to audiences in Chinese. In the end, they played Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 as an encore. The audiences gave high comments on their performances and said the Staatskapelle Dresden is the best orchestra to play Beethoven’s works.


Mr. Jan Nast (General Manager of the Staatskapelle Dresden), Mr. Till Scheer (General Manager of Volkswagen Import Phaeton), Mr. Zhixiang Li (the Vice President of the National Centre for the Performing Arts) in Volkswagen Import Phaeton’s reception for the Staatskapelle Dresden

During their last concert in Tianjin, Maestro Chung and the orchestra first grieved for all the victims in the terrible attack at Paris before the concert. After the concert, Tianjin Grand Theatre gave a bronze of Mozart to Maestro Chung.

Except these five excellent concerts, the Dresden String Quartet met Volkswagen Import Phaeton’s guests and classical music fans in Shanghai and Tianjin. Musicians signed for some young people, encouraged them to pursue their dreams of music and invited them to Dresden. In the German Consulate General in Shanghai, the musicians also hold a chamber concert for some classical music fans.

On November 16th, Maestro Chung and some musicians of the Staatskapelle Dresden gave master classes at the Central Conservatory of Music. Musicians spent two hours teaching the students, and Myung-Whun Chung also gave a lesson in the auditorium. Students were very excited and welcomed the orchestra. They also asked the musicians some academic questions and said they were enlightened by the musicians’ reply. Mr. Jan Nast, General Manager of the Staatskapelle Dresden, also claimed ’We are so happy to come to the best conservatory of music in China, and I hope there will be more activities with students like this in the future.’ Maestro Chung was awarded Honorary Professor by the school on that day.

After the Staatskapelle Dresden finished their tour in China, Wu Promotion will present the Wiener Symphoniker’s New Year Concert in China as a welcome for 2016. 

Clipping Report:

Xinmin Evening News
http://xmwb.xinmin.cn/xmwb/html/2015-11/10/content_24_1.htm

Dongfang Daily
http://epaper.dfdaily.com/dfzb/html/2015-11/10/content_1012490.htm

Wenhui Daily
http://www.whb.cn/zhuzhan/jujiao/20151112/42859.html

Wuhan Evening News
http://whwb.cjn.cn/html/2015-11/11/content_5486688.htm

Beijing Evening news
http://bjwb.bjd.com.cn/html/2015-11/23/content_330157.htm

China Youth Daily
http://app.why.com.cn/epaper/qnb/html/2015-11/10/content_274101.htm?div=-1

China News
http://www.chinanews.com/yl/2015/11-14/7623675.shtml

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