As the summer holidays wind down, Shenzhen Concert Hall presents two nights of keyboard music sure to captivate music lovers: French organist Olivier Latry on Friday and acclaimed Mozart interpreter Christian Blackshaw on Sunday.

Romantic Qixi night 

French organist Olivier Latry. Photos courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall 

This Friday, which coincides with this year’s Qixi — the seventh day of the seventh lunar month celebrated as the Chinese Valentine’s Day — Olivier Latry returns to Shenzhen Concert Hall to lead audiences through a rich and varied program. 

Listeners will be taken from the pulsing vigor of Manuel de Falla to the exuberant energy of Bartók, from Bach’s profound intellectual depth to the tenderness associated with Maurice Duruflé, and finally into the spontaneous possibilities of improvisation.

Latry invites the audience to explore the organ’s extraordinary range of expression and surprising intimacy. A tireless advocate for the instrument, he is equally at home in the traditional repertoire and in modern works. 

He has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, appeared with leading orchestras under renowned conductors, premiered numerous works, and recorded for major labels. He was appointed titular organist at Notre‑Dame in Paris at the age of 23 and has served as Organist Emeritus at the Orchestre National de Montréal since 2012.

Friday’s program features Louis Marchand’s “Grand Dialogue in C Major,” Manuel de Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance,” Bartók’s “Romanian Folk Dances,” the finale of Alexandre Guilmant’s “Organ Sonata No. 1,” Gabriel Pierné’s “Prélude et Scherzo,” Bach’s “Fugue in G Minor” and the monumental “Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor.” 

At the concert’s close, Latry will present one of his signature improvisations — exploiting the organ’s rich stops and reed timbres to bring a romantic Qixi evening to a thrilling climax.

Time: 8 p.m., Aug. 29 

Tickets: 80–380 yuan
 

Christian Blackshaw piano recital 
 

British pianist Christian Blackshaw.
 

British pianist Christian Blackshaw, born in Cheshire in 1949, enjoyed a distinguished early career. He studied with Gordon Green at the Royal Manchester College of Music, continued his training at the Royal Academy of Music, and became the first British pianist to study with Moisei Halfin at the Leningrad Conservatoire. 

He also worked closely with Clifford Curzon. Over the years he has collaborated with many leading orchestras, appeared at international festivals, and given a complete cycle of Mozart piano sonatas in England.

At the height of his career, Blackshaw made the unusual choice to step back from the limelight to focus on raising his children — a rare and admired decision in the music world that earned him the reputation of a “reclusive maestro.” 

In 2009 he announced his return to concert life and has since continued to astonish audiences with impeccably crafted performances. Over the past 16 years he has toured extensively and released acclaimed recordings.

For Sunday’s concert he will present Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 17 in B‑flat Major, K. 570,” a work of delicate refinement that reflects Mozart’s late style; Schumann’s lyrical and dreamlike “Fantasy Pieces, Op. 12”; and Schubert’s vast and emotive “Piano Sonata in C Minor, D. 958.” 

Expect a program that balances classical elegance with Romantic depth, delivered with Blackshaw’s characteristic clarity and expressive nuance.

Time: 8 p.m., Aug. 31 

Tickets: 80–480 yuan