RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra flys the flag in China

RTÉ NSO to perform in the National Centre For The Performing Arts Beijing

The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra will perform in China’s prestigious National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in the venue’s final concert of its summer season onSunday, 23 July 2017.  

This concert is by invitation of José Serebrier, world renowned conductor and composer, who will conduct the 80 member RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in a themed concert entitled The Seasons. The programme features works by Xiaogang Ye, Verdi and Glazunov.

Anthony Long, RTÉ NSO’s General Manager said: “In recent years, global stars including Lang Lang and Yuja Wang have captivated Chinese audiences, creating a strong market for Western classical music in China. It’s fantastic to have the RTÉ NSO perform in this illustrious venue and to get exposure to such a major international audience. I’d like to thank José Serebrier for creating this wonderful opportunity. I hope it’ll be a catalyst for building relationships with China’s music sector.”

José Serebrier’s invitation to the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra was inspired by the great public reception he received when he conducted the English Chamber Orchestra on tour in Dublin recently, “having fallen in love with the people and the beauty of the country”.

José Serebrier said: “When China’s iconic National Centre for the Performing Arts invited me to bring an orchestra of my choice to conclude their Summer festival, I had the instant inspiration that Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra would be the perfect choice. NCPA’s invitation to me came as a result of the success of the concert I did in January with the China National Symphony Orchestra.  Most of my previous appearances in China had been on tour with foreign ensembles, the Russian National Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas and others.”

He also added: “To perform in Beijing’s prime cultural centre is a special privilege and I am delighted to share this experience with Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. The festival this year has a theme “the seasons”, and I was asked to construct a programme around their theme. These are all works I have recorded with various orchestras.  It makes for a rounded, beautiful programme.”

Maestro Serebrier will be in Dublin to rehearse with the RTÉ NSO on 18 and 19 July before the orchestra leaves for Beijing on Thursday 20 July.

It is the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra’s first visit to Beijing, and the concert will be attended by H.E. Dr. Yue Xiaoyong, the Chinese Ambassador in Ireland.

RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN BEIJING

Sunday, 23 July 2017 / 1930 hours

National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing

Programme:

Ye Xiaogang:  Winter 1, op. 28

Verdi:  I Vespri Siciliani, The Four Seasons (Ballet Music)

Glazunov:  The Seasons, op. 67

 

ENDS

 

For information:  Mary Folan, Mobile:  +353 87 410 0516, Email:  mary.folan@rte.ie

 

About José Serebrier

 

GRAMMY-winner conductor and composer José Serebrier is one of the most recorded classical artists in history. He has received forty-six GRAMMY nominations in recent years.  All his recent recordings have received multiple GRAMMY nominations, the Grand Prix de Disque in France, etc.

 

When José Serebrier was 21 years old, Leopold Stokowski hailed him as “the greatest master of orchestral balance”. After five years as Stokowski’s Associate Conductor at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Serebrier accepted an invitation from George Szell to become the Composer in Residence of the Cleveland Orchestra. Szell discovered Serebrier when he won the Ford Foundation American Conductors Competition (together with James Levine). Serebrier was music director of America’s oldest music festival, in Worcester, Massachusetts, until he organized Festival Miami, and served as its artistic director for many years. Serebrier has made international tours with the Russian National Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Spain, Orchestra of the Americas, English Chamber Orchestra and many others.

 

Serebrier’s first recording, the Ives’ 4thSymphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, won a GRAMMY nomination. His recording of the Mendelssohn symphonies won the UK Music Retailers Association Award for Best Orchestral Recording, and his series of Shostakovich’s Film Suites won the Deutsche Schallplatten Award for Best Orchestral Recording. Soundstage magazine selected Serebrier’s recording of Scheherazade with the LPO as the Best Audiophile Recording. He has recorded with the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Czech State Philharmonic Brno, Weimar Staatskapelle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide symphony orchestras and many others.

 

“Serebrier Conducts Prokofiev, Beethoven and Tchaikowsky” filmed at the Sydney Opera has been shown over 50 times on U.S. television. Serebrier conducted at the 2004 GRAMMY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, telecast live to 175 countries.

 

Serebrier presently records for Naxos, BIS, Warner Classics, SOMM, RPO Records, Reference Recordings RR and Sony. His compositions are published by Peermusic, Universal, Boosey & Hawkes, Peters Corporation, Hal Leonard, Warner Chappel, etc. The French music critic Michel Faure has written a new book about José Serebrier published in France by L’Harmattan.