New York Philharmonic opens MISA music festival

Under the baton of Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the New York Philharmonic opened the Music In The Summer Air Festival (MISA) with a concert featuring a French repertoire at the Shanghai Symphony Hall on Tuesday evening.

Over the next two weeks, orchestras, music ensembles, and student art groups, featuring nearly 50 conductors and solo artists, will fill the city's summer with live music performances and livestreams.

On Wednesday evening, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the New York Philharmonic will collaborate with French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, who is a gold medalist from the Tchaikovsky International Competition, for a Beethoven-themed program. Kantorow gained global recognition for his memorable performance during the rain at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"This is my third time in Shanghai," Kantorow remarked. "The city's vibrancy is incredible. The audience here is highly focused and sophisticated. I can sense a profound, deeply rooted musical tradition."

This year's festival features three distinct Bach-themed concerts celebrating the Baroque master's 340th anniversary: "Absolute Bach" concertos by oboe virtuoso Marcel Ponseele and Il Gardellino; "Quer Bach" by German A Cappella ensemble SLIXS; "Bachianas Brasileiras" by the Agnes Quartet.

Time For Three, the Grammy-winning trio, will join the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to perform "Contact," winner of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

Conductor Kent Nagano and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg will perform German-Austrian repertoire alongside Chopin Competition winner Rafal Blechacz for the first time in China.

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will conclude MISA with a peace-themed concert at Shanghai Urban Lawn Concert Square on July 13 under conductor Yu Long.

For tickets and additional information, visit Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's website www.shsymphony.com or follow their WeChat account "shsymphony".