PolyU Orchestra: Stuttgart Exchange Programme Pre-departure Concert

The PolyU Orchestra is set to depart for Stuttgart, Germany, for a reciprocal Exchange Programme and a joint concert on 4 June 2019 with the University of Stuttgart Academic Orchestra, after a successful joint concert at PolyU in September 2018.

In this pre-departure concert, the PolyU Orchestra will perform a set of famous compositions by Chinese composers, the same repertoire we will bring to Stuttgart for our cultural and music exchange. In addition to the pieces below, the two orchestras will play Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in the exchange concert.

Tan Dun
Crouching Tiger Concerto
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Through the Bamboo Forest
Silk Road: Encounters
Eternal Vow
To The South
Farewell

The Concerto was composed in conjunction with the film score, and it was inspired by Yo-Yo Ma (the original soloist) and his Silk Road Project. Common to both the film score and the Concerto are the local melodies, instruments and their performing techniques, which Tan observed during his studies of the ethnic cultures along the section of the ancient Silk Road that runs through China’s Xinjiang province.

Chen Gang and He Zhanhao
Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto

One of the most famous Chinese symphonic compositions, the work follows the narrative of an ancient legend. The opening violin theme, based on a traditional melody, evokes springtime in the countryside south of the Yangtze River. Zhu, daughter of a wealthy family, disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school. She becomes friendly with Liang, a boy from a humble background. They part without Liang ever realising that Zhu is a girl.

When the truth finally dawns on Liang, he rushes to Zhu’s home in hopes of marrying her. However, she has been forced into an arranged marriage, and he dies of a broken heart. Mourning by Liang’s grave, which suddenly breaks open, Zhu throws herself in on top of his body. The pair reappear as butterflies, united as lovers in a blissful dance among the flowers, after which the solo violin gently rises to its highest register.

Liu Tie-shan and Mao Yuan
Dance of the Yao People

Another beloved classic of Chinese music, the composition opens with an evocation of night in the Yao village, and a flowing theme from the violins represents the serene and graceful young girls who emerge in their flowing red traditional costumes and begin to dance. As more and more girls join in the dance, the young men of the village burst in on the scene, announced by a skipping bassoon and oboe. At one point a romantic episode is introduced representing “a young couple in love expressing their affection for each other and looking forward to a happy future”. The return of the flowing violin theme, followed by the skipping dance leads up to the work’s lively conclusion.

Free admission by ticket.
Tickets are now available at the Information Counter of the Jockey Club Auditorium on a first-come, first-served basis.

Enquiries: 3400 2433