Musical Maestros From Finland and China to Share Stage at Finlandia Hall; Open Your Heart in 2020 with Paganini Violin Winner and Antonio Pedeotti Conducting Winner | Finland Today | News in English

On January 27, Monday at 19:00, top artists from Finland and China will step together on stage at the Finlandia Hall. Under the cordial care of Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, with the spring music passion from 2002 Paganini violin winner Huang Mengla and the first Antonio Pedrotti conducting winner Lu Jia, in the music hall of Finland, you will fully enjoy the Asian violin concerto quintessence and the world-famous music piece.

Introduction to conductor Lu Jia’s work

Lu served as the music director of the Teatro Comunale Giusseppe Verdi di Trieste in 1990, becoming the first Asian conductor to direct a national opera house in Italy. He was also appointed as the music director and principal conductor of L’Orchestra di Toscana in Italy, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in Sweden and the world-famous Arena di Verona, among others.

He is the music director and principal conductor of the Macao Orchestra, while also serving as the artistic director of music at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing and the artistic director and the principal conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra.

Lu has conducted in over 2,000 concerts and operas in collaboration with European, American and Asian opera houses and orchestras. In 2017, he was one of the overseas representatives attending the CPPCC National Conference, and on May 14, he directed the concert dedicated to the first Belt and Road Summit held in Beijing, receiving high praise from Chinese and foreign leaders. He received the Great Wall Friendship Award from the Beijing municipal government for his outstanding contributions to the city in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Violinist Huang Mengla is known as the ‘Oriental Paganini’

Mengla Huang, born in Shanghai in 1980, is one of the most active violinists on the world stage. He won the 49th Paganini International Violin Competition at the age of 22 and also received the Renato De Barbieri Memorial Award for the best interpretation of Paganini’s Caprices and the Mario Ruminelli Memorial Award in this competition, thus getting named as “Oriental Paganini.” (Niccolò Paganini was an Italian composer and principal violin virtuoso of the 19th century.)

Since 2001, as a solo violinist, Mengla Huang has made his United States debut on concert stages such as Alice Tully Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. He has performed as an honorary guest at the opening concert of the National Centre for Performing Arts in China.

Conductor Lu Jia and violinist Huang Mengla. Press photo

He became the first Chinese violinist to give a recital at the world-famous Prague Spring International Music Festival. He toured with orchestras such as Sinfonieorchester Basel, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and many more top international orchestras and achieved astounding success throughout China, Japan and Europe.

In 2014, Mengla as the ambassador, cooperated with FM.947, the only classical music radio in China, to promote the development of classical music in China.

Mengla Huang has worked as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He has also served as a guest professor of the Ishikawa Music Academy in Japan for many years and has taken on the duty as a member of the jury in both international and domestic major competitions such as the Sendai International Violin Competition.

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. Press photo

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest musical group in Finland

The roots of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra stretch back to the year 1790 and the founding of The Musical Society in Turku. The oldest orchestra in Finland—and one of the oldest in the world—the Turku Philharmonic was taken over by its host city in 1927. At the time it had 29 players, as against 74 today. The artistic director and the chief conductor from 2012 to the end of spring season 2019 was Leif Segerstam. Segerstam was appointed TPO:s honorary conductor on May 16, 2019. The orchestra’s principal guest conductor is Julian Rachlin.

The orchestra has been on tour to Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Germany, Hungary and China. It released its first record in 1979. Favorite Finnish Classics (1995) and Karita’s Christmas (2002) both merited a platinum disc. Conductor Juha Kangas and the Turku Philharmonics won the EMMA award for Classical Album of the Year for their recording Transient Moods – Rajatiloja, published in 2009, with music by P.H. Nordgren. The orchestra won International Classical Music Awards for Best Collection 2019 with a six-CD collection of “Sibelius: Incidental Music” that was recorded under the baton of Leif Segerstam. With Leif Segerstam the orchestra has also recorded a four-CD series of “Brahms Segerstam” which includes all four symphonies of Johannes Brahms and four symphonies of Leif Segerstam.

Side by side with the weekly symphony concerts, the orchestra’s chamber music ensembles perform in the historic venues of Turku and the beautiful archipelago. The orchestra also puts on concerts for the whole family and takes regularly part in opera productions. Also, Turku Philharmonic works with accessibility questions and is leading the way in Finland on the field of Internet concerts.

Introduction to ‘The Butterfly Lovers’ violin concerto

Violin concerto “Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai” (or ‘The Butterfly Lovers’) originates from a classical, Chinese legend, a lyrical romance of eternal love between Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai. Both transformed into butterflies after their death, flying together, forever. This romantic theme of this piece came from Chinese Yue opera and has been a symbol of Chinese music in the international scene for sixty-one years since its composition.

This is the first time that this great piece will perform in Finland by its inheritor, the second generation of the best interpreter of this Chinese gem.

The organizers promise that you will definitely love this precious concert!

Spring Festival – Chinese New Year Symphony Concert will be held at the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki at 19:00 in the evening on Monday, January 27.

Tickets：https://www.finlandiatalo.fi/fi/spring-festival-chinese-new-year-symphony-concert

Program：

First Half：