Shanghai Concert Hall to mark its 95th anniversary with over 450 shows and activities

The Shanghai Concert Hall, celebrating its 95th birthday, will host over 450 performances and activities over the next six months. Highlights include tribute concerts to Baroque luminaries George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach on their 340th anniversaries.

The world-renowned English Concert, directed by Artistic Director and Conductor Harry Bicket, will make its China debut on October 16 with the celebrated concert version of Handel's opera "Rinaldo." This seven-time Gramophone Award-winning band will be accompanied by seven world-class vocalists, including American countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen.

On November 2, Masaaki Suzuki, a renowned conductor and master of the harpsichord, will lead Bach Collegium Japan on their inaugural tour of China. The ensemble will perform Bach's Suite No. 3 in D major, the Double Violin Concerto in D minor, and the rarely-performed secular cantata "The Contest Between Phoebus and Pan."

The Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet is scheduled to perform on September 24. Following that, on September 27, violinist Ning Feng and guitarist Yang Xuefei will present compositions by Paganini and Schubert, along with several pieces from Chinese composers.

Other international performers include Yulianna Avdeeva, the 16th Chopin Competition winner; French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard; Russian pianists Dmitri Alexeev and Nikolai Lugansky; and Russian accordionist Alexander Selivanov.

From December 6 to 14, the Shanghai Concert Hall will stage a mini-festival to commemorate Shostakovich's 50th death anniversary. The Borodin Quartet, as musicians in residence, will offer nine typical quartets in three consecutive concerts. The festival also includes masterclasses and lectures.

The Concert Hall's residency programs also continue in the second half of the year. The music theater production "The Bird Wings Runner" began its third residency round at the venue on July 5th. Director Liu Xiaoyi has revamped the show, adding a surprise element – a suona solo at the end of each performance.

The VR immersive show "Back to Shanghai 1930" premieres on July 18. During the 40-minute event, participants will "visit" the 1930s Nanking Theater, which eventually became the Shanghai Concert Hall, and watch the birth of a Shanghai-style pipa suite.

For additional information and to order tickets, visit the official website of the Shanghai Concert Hall at www.shanghaiconcerthall.org.

If you go:

Venue: Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall 凯迪拉克上海音乐厅

Address: 523 Yan'an Rd E. 延安东路523号