The Royal Flemish Philharmonic ushered in the New Year with a successful tour in China.

the Royal Flemish Philharmonic for its New Year concert in Beijing

The Royal Flemish Philharmonic ushered in the New Year with an extensive tour of China and a performance programme which included the ever popular Spring Festival Overture and Dvorak’s beautifully cinematic symphony, From the New World. The programme also featured lively works from Strauss, The Emperor Waltz, Voices of Spring, The Blue Danube Waltz and Radetzky March, and ended with in an encore of Xi Yangyang.

Ambassador of Belgium, Patrick Nijs gave a speech & revealed the new official logo of
the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium

Under the baton of the passionate conductor Martyn Brabbins, the orchestra presented a series of world-class performances in: Macau, alongside the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra, at the Macau Cultural Center; Guangzhou, to a full house in the newly built Guangzhou Grand Theatre; Shenzhen, in the Shenzhen Concert Hall; Zhuhai, in the Great Hall of the People; Zhongshan, at the Culture and Art Centre; Zhaoqing, in the Xingyan Theatre; and Sihui, at the Administrative and Cultural Centre. The tour ended with a special closing performance at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing on the 5th of January, 2011. This was the orchestra’s second time touring in China with Wu Promotion. The orchestra’s first appearance in China, in 2008, led by conductor Philippe Herreweghe, was a success paving the way for this year’s tour. 

These concerts were in honour of an important occasion, the celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Belgium. In Beijing, the concert served as an opening ceremony for the celebrations. A cocktail reception was hosted by the Embassy of Belgium and the ambassador Patrick Nijs revealed the new official logo of the anniversary.The concert ran for almost two hours and the orchestra was called back on stage for several encores.

2011 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Belgium. As part of the Celebrations, the internationally acclaimed Collegium Vocale Gent will appear on stage at the National Centre for the Performing Arts to unveil the mysterious nature of Baroque music. Under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, the Collegium Vocal Gent Promises an evening of Bach's most famous works.  

Review:

 "Fine-tuning a long-standing friendship"
—— China Daily, 2011-01-08

"The Royal Flemish Philharmonic played the Spring Festival Overture in China"
—— Renmin Ribao, 2011-01-07