The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin recently embarked on a tour of Asia, which will include stops in China, Japan, Macao, and Taiwan. Their concert in Shanghai's Grand Theater on May 25 will be streamed live to international audiences.
This event has historical significance: it will be the first symphonic webcast from China to an international audience. The orchestra will perform Mozart's Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter" and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.
To watch the live webcast, listeners are invited to preregister at yunbomedia.com. The livestream is free, and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Shanghai time on Sunday, May 25--which is 1:30 p.m. Paris time and 7:30 a.m. EST.
The 2014 Tour of Asia also marks Nézet-Séguin's first tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He became the orchestra's eighth music director in 2012.
"Yannick Nézet-Séguin's inaugural tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra marks a moment of pride and celebration for us, as we share with the world the remarkable relationship that has flowered between music director and musicians," said Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Allison Vulgamore.
"We are privileged to begin this tour in China, paying tribute to The Philadelphia Orchestra's deep historical roots and growing musical partnership with the people of China," she continued. "We look forward equally to greeting our longtime friends in Japan and Taiwan, welcoming new Orchestra fans throughout the entire tour, united all through the common language of music."
This tour also honors the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Since 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon asked the Philadelphia Orchestra to be the first U.S. orchestra to perform in China, the ensemble has enjoyed a unique and special relationship with China and its people.
The orchestra will perform music of Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Mahler in China, along with a special performance of Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women by Chinese composer Tan Dun, dedicated to audiences in China.
Tan Dun serves as artistic advisor of The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2014 China concerts and residency activities. His Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women was written for Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Harp Elizabeth Hainen, and is a multimedia work based on a disappearing language created in Hunan, China, in the 13th century. The piece incorporates video and audio of the handful of remaining women who still speak the language with music for orchestra and solo harp, which the composer chose because it is "the most feminine instrument."
In addition to the mainland cities, the orchestra will make a return trip to Macao for the second consecutive year before continuing on to concerts in Tokyo, Japan. The orchestra will conclude its 2014 Tour of Asia with a concert in Taipei, Taiwan on June 5.
Here's a video from the orchestra's 2013 Asian tour, featuring a spontaneous performance of Dvorak's "American" string quartet. The musicians' plane was sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours in Beijing, and a few adventurous souls decided to take out their instruments and entertain the rest of the passengers:
