Karen Kocharyan

Lu Wei

Zhou Qi

Jin Zhenhong

Yang Liuyin


Nie Jiapeng

Debra Li

debra_lidan@163.com

THIS Thursday evening, the Shenzhen Chamber Orchestra, the first professional chamber orchestra based in Shenzhen, will make their debut at the Shenzhen Concert Hall, performing works by Mendelssohn, Borodin, Richard Strauss, and Piazzolla.

The members of this newly founded orchestra include Lu Wei, the permanent concertmaster of the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, Zhou Qi, the principal violinist of the Munich Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Jin Zhenhong, the guest principal violist of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO), Nie Jiapeng, a cellist and teacher at the Xinghai Music Conservatory, Yang Liuyin, the principal violist of SZSO, and SZSO’s principal cellist Karen Kocharyan.

Thursday’s show, the orchestra’s first public debut since its founding, will feature a classical repertoire for the strings. The audience will be treated to Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1,” an elegant and profound piece that opens with a spirited conversation between the four instruments, followed by a gentle smooth minuet, then another wistful slow movement and culminating in a brilliant dance finale. Then, the orchestra will perform Borodin’s representative piece, the “String Sextet in D Minor,” an early, unfinished two-movement piece concluding with a melancholic slow movement reminiscent of Tchaikovsky in its elegant simplicity. They will also present Strauss’ unforgettable 13-minute string sextet from his last opera “Capriccio” (1941), along with a fan favorite — Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires,” completed in 1970. The audience will hear a quartet version of this piece.

With this deliberately picked program, the Shenzhen Chamber Orchestra aims to convey to the audience the charm of this intimate form of music, immersing them in subtle and refined musical ideas and flawless acoustical balance.

The orchestra plans to introduce a rich and diverse repertoire to fans at future concerts, engaging in various forms of cultural exchanges to reach out to fans and promote chamber music in society, as stated in an announcement from the orchestra.

Time: 7:30 p.m., July 18

Tickets: 60-220 yuan

Booking: WeChat account “szyyt_piao”

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (深圳音乐厅)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D