WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, one of the six major broadcasting symphony orchestras in Germany, finalized their largest Asia tour...

From May 11th to May 27th, with the support of grand theaters, concert halls and our partners, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, one of the six major broadcasting symphony orchestras in Germany, finalized their largest Asia tour on the occasion of WDR’s 70th anniversary with their chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

This is also the third cooperation between WDR and Wu Promotion after 2006 and 2015.

It is worth mentioning that this tour not only featured many performances, but also had a wide range of footprints. For the first time, the orchestra organized a 170-people group with WDR Radio Choir Cologne and Southwestern Radio Choir of Germany, to perform the chorus songs of Beethoven and Brahms.

Starting from South Korea, WDR traveled through Daegu Concert Hall, Yongin Samsung Electronics Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center from May 11th to May 13th. Being different from the later tour in China, WDR invited the famous violinist Arabella Steinbach to join the performance of classic orchestral works such as Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major.

On May 15th, they arrived to China and began in Guangdong Xinghai Concert Hall. The concert was the first performance of the "20th Anniversary Show Season Opening Week" of Xinghai Concert Hall. Not only did the concert hall have been packed, but the entire live webcast conducted by the concert hall and the "Tencent Video LIVE Channel" attracted more than 50,000 fans to witness Beethoven's Ninth Symphony chorus and Brahms' Schicksalslied.

At the Shenzhen Concert Hall on May 16th, the orchestra and the choir became the largest number of foreign orchestras ever presented in the concert hall. The concert was selected by the “14th ICIF Festival” as well. On May 18th, the orchestra and the choir visited the Jiangsu Grand Theatre for the first time and was praised by Nanjing fans. On May 19, the orchestra and choir headed to the Shanghai Chenshan Grassland Broadcast Music Festival. Chinese young pianist Zhang Yichen and the talented violinist Yang Tianwa joined the concert and played Rhythm of the Rhine. WDR and the Chorus finished their last concert of cooperation at the Shanghai Grand Theater on May 20.

From May 22nd to 27th, the orchestra successively performed the Sibelius’s Symphony No.2 in D Major in Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, Harbin Grand Theatre, Tianjin Grand Theater and National Grand Theater.

The Asia Tour of WDR was acclaimed by Chinese audiences.