FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPDATED January 17, 2017 November 1, 2016 ARTIST AND PROGRAM CHANGE Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected] LONG YU TO CONDUCT CHINA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, PRESENTED BY THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PROKOFIEV’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with JULIAN RACHLIN SHOSTAKOVICH’s Symphony No. 5 December 11, 2016 NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC IN SIXTH ANNUAL CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT and GALA U.S. PREMIERE of CHEN Qigang’s Joie Éternelle with Trumpet Player ALISON BALSOM PUCCINI’s Selection from Turandot and Traditional Chinese Folk Songs with Soprano SUMI JO SAINT-SAËNS’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with Concertmaster FRANK HUANG January 31, 2017 The New York Philharmonic will present two programs honoring its strong ties to China, both led by Long Yu: the China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at David Geffen Hall on December 11, 2016, and the New York Philharmonic will perform its sixth annual Chinese New Year Concert and Gala, January 31, 2017. Both programs celebrate the cultural exchange between China and the U.S., particularly the Philharmonic’s connections to China. China Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic will present the China Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Long Yu, its Music Director, at David Geffen Hall on December 11, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. The program will feature Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Julian Rachlin as soloist, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. Long Yu co-founded the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000, and has since served as its artistic director and chief conductor. The orchestra’s appearance at David Geffen Hall, presented by the New York Philharmonic, is part of its 2016 Tour of the Americas. Chinese New Year Concert and Gala The New York Philharmonic will celebrate the Chinese New Year for the sixth consecutive year, this time welcoming the Year of the Rooster with a program of music by Chinese composers and a work inspired by China, celebrating the cultural heritage of China and the West, and honoring the Chinese-American community, on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. Long Yu will conduct the Chinese New Year Concert for the sixth consecutive season. (more) China Philharmonic Orchestra / Chinese New Year Concert and Gala / 2 This year’s program will feature two soloists making their Philharmonic debuts: trumpet player Alison Balsom in the U.S. Premiere of Chen Qigang’s Joie Éternelle (Eternal Joy), for trumpet and orchestra — which was written for her and which she premiered with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014 — and soprano Sumi Jo in “Signore, ascolta!” from Puccini’s Turandot, “Ah, vous dirai-je, maman” from Adam’s Le Toréador with Principal Flute Robert Langevin, and three Chinese folk songs for soprano and orchestra: “A Little Path,” Huang Zi’s “Three Rose Wishes,” and Li Qingzhu’s “I Live Beside the Yangtze River.” The program will also feature Concertmaster Frank Huang performing Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso; Ravel’s Boléro; and the Spring Festival Overture, Li Huanzhi’s traditional work celebrating the Chinese New Year, which will once again open the concert. This program replaces the previously announced World Premiere of Xu Shuya’s The Light of Summer and U.S. Premiere of Andy Akiho’s Ricochet, Concerto for Ping Pong, Violin, Percussion, and Orchestra. Gala events will include a pre-concert champagne reception from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.; the concert; and a seated dinner immediately following the performance. Gala dress will be traditional Chinese attire or black-tie. The Honorary Gala Chairmen are Mr. and Mrs. Maurice R. Greenberg, H.E. Ambassador Liu Jieyi, and H.E. Consul-General Zhang Qiyue. The Gala Co-Chairmen are Angela Chen, Guoqing Chen and Ming Liu, Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar L. Tang, and Shirley Young. Starr International Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Chinese New Year Gala. A portion of the Gala’s proceeds will help fund the acclaimed Philharmonic Schools activities at P.S. 120 in Flushing, Queens, an elementary school that is attended by a large population of Chinese-Americans and recent immigrants from China. Artists Chinese conductor Long Yu is artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, co-director of the MISA Shanghai Summer Festival, and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He played a leading role in establishing the Shanghai Orchestra Academy through a partnership between the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, with collaboration from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2014 the Philharmonic named Long Yu an honorary member of the International Advisory Board, established to support the Philharmonic’s activities abroad, including the New York Philharmonic Global Academy. Long Yu frequently conducts the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies, including the New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Munich philharmonic orchestras; Chicago, Montreal, National, Cincinnati, Bamberg, Berlin Radio, Leipzig Radio, NDR, Sydney, BBC, and Singapore symphony orchestras; and The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Hamburg Staatsoper. In 2008, for the first time in history, the China Philharmonic Orchestra performed under his baton at the Vatican, attended by Pope Benedict XIV. In 1992 Long Yu was appointed principal conductor of the Central Opera Theatre in Beijing; he was involved in planning the Chinese New Year concert series later that year and served as its conductor for three consecutive years. He created opera productions for The Urban Council of Hong Kong for five years. In 1998 he led the creation of the Beijing Music Festival (more) China Philharmonic Orchestra / Chinese New Year Concert and Gala / 3 and has since been its artistic director. In 2005, with the provincial government’s support, he built up the Canton International Summer Music Academy and became its chairman for the following three years. He also established the MISA Shanghai Summer Music Festival in 2010 and, later that year, the Canton Asian Music Festival. Born in 1964 into a musical family in Shanghai, Long Yu received his early musical education from his grandfather, composer Ding Shande, and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. He received the Arts Patronage Award of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation (2002), Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2003), and the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award, and was a 2016 inductee to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Long Yu is currently vice-president of Chinese Musicians Association and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Long Yu’s first appearance with the Philharmonic was leading the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra on a New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks program on Central Park’s Great Lawn in 2010, and he first led the Orchestra in January 2012, conducting the inaugural Chinese New Year Concert. He has since led each annual Chinese New Year Concert and Gala. CHINA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (December 11, 2016) The China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), established in 2000, has experienced exponential growth, becoming China’s top orchestra and a leading figure in Asia with an international reputation. The CPO was named among the ten most inspiring orchestras in the world by Gramophone in 2009. The CPO actively pursues innovative methods and platforms to promote classical music to a wider audience; in the last 16 years it has presented more than 3,000 compositions — many in their World and Chinese Premieres — in more than 1,000 performances before millions of audience members. The orchestra has traveled more than one million kilometers on its domestic and international tours, the equivalent of circling the world 20 times. In the past two seasons the orchestra has toured along the Silk Road and to Maritime Silk Road countries, and made its Russian debut last July. The 2016 Tour of the Americas, the CPO’s third tour to the United States, includes concerts at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis; Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco; Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, Maryland; and Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at Long Island University. The orchestra will also make appearances in Canada and Cuba. Violinist Julian Rachlin has established close relationships with many of the most prestigious conductors and orchestras. He is also praised as a viola player and conductor, and has been recognized for his educational outreach and charity work as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Highlights of Mr. Rachlin’s 2016–17 season include engagements with the Munich Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Yuri Temirkanov, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda, a North America tour with the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Long Yu, and his return to the BBC Proms with Filarmonica della Scala and Riccardo Chailly. Additionally, Mr. Rachlin performs his second season as principal guest conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and will conduct the China, Luxembourg, and Royal Liverpool philharmonic orchestras; Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; and State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia. Born in Lithuania in 1974, Julian Rachlin immigrated to Vienna in 1978. He (more) China Philharmonic Orchestra / Chinese New Year Concert and Gala / 4 studied violin with Boris Kuschnir at the Vienna Conservatory, and with Pinchas Zukerman. After winning the Young Musician of the Year Award at the 1988 Eurovision Competition, he became the youngest soloist ever to play with the Vienna Philharmonic, making his debut conducted by Riccardo Muti. At the recommendation of Mariss Jansons, Mr. Rachlin has been studying conducting with Sophie Rachlin.