In Friday’s (11/6) Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), Ronni Reich writes, “In recent years, classical music coming from China has become an increasingly hot topic: Chinese-born performers and composers have drawn rabid fans and graced numerous concert programs.” But the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra “emerged 130 years ago, making it the first classical ensemble in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. ‘It’s a very important part of the whole history and cultural development in China,’ says Long Yu, who was appointed its music director this year. … He leads the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in a rare American tour beginning Tuesday, which concludes Carnegie Hall’s ‘Ancient Paths, Modern Voices,’ a three-week festival celebrating Chinese culture. On Thursday, the orchestra appears at the State Theatre in New Brunswick [New Jersey]. … Originally the Shanghai Public Band, started by the governing body of Shanghai’s International Settlement, by the late 1920s, the orchestra engaged world-class soloists like Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz. From 1966 to 1976, during the Cultural Revolution, the number of concerts was greatly reduced, and the orchestra has since been in a state of rebuilding. It rose to prominence again with the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.’ ”
November 9, 2009
