Led by conductor Christoph Eschenbach, SWR Symphonie-orchester made a successful debut tour in China...

Led by conductor Christoph Eschenbach, SWR Symphonieorchester made a successful debut tour in China along with violinist Ray Chen as soloist between 17th and 23rd May, during which five concerts were held respectively at Shenzhen Concert Hall, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Chenshan Lawn Broadcast Music Festival, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, and Shanxi Poly Grand Theatre, attracting nearly 10,000 audiences. The performances, showing great virtuosity, were well received and wildly acclaimed.

The SWR Symphonieorchester, an outcome of the merger of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) and the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg in September 2016, has gradually established its artistic profile with ethereal sounds that feature both “the Voice of Stuttgart” and “the Orchestra of Hot Springs”. The debut tour in China was led by Christoph Eschenbach, who is also the guest conductor of the orchestra. And a program including the overture of Der Freischütz by Weber, Symphony No. 9 in E minor "From the New World" by Dvořák as well as other classic works was designed especially for Chinese audiences. Besides, violinist Ray Chen was invited to join the orchestra on tour, playing Mendelssohn’s emotive Violin Concerto in E minor. The concert at Shanghai Chenshan Lawn Broadcast Music Festival is Eschenbach’s first outdoor music event in China in his decades-long career.

The tour received acclaim from both audiences and critics alike. A music professional praised “SWR Symphonieorchester’s Der Freischütz isunrivalled by any other orchestra! When I tried to feel it with my eyes closed, the saturated sound seemed to attract me to the Black Forest in southwest Germany, making me stunned, lost, and mad! Such gracefulness with wildness is the uniqueness of the Black Forest – and the very uniqueness of SWR Symphonieorchester and Eschenbach!”