Two new commissions glorify the Party
Composers in China are quick in adapting to the need of the time. Last year they answered to the pandemic and received commissions to praise the heroes who fought Covid.
2021 is the year of celebration when the China's Communist Party welcomes its centennial. Two new commissions received their premieres last night performed by Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zhang Liang at the Shanghai Symohony Hall.
XU Jingxin’s suite for orchestra, mixed chorus and four singers Eternal Monument and Peng-Peng Gong’s Ode to the Centennial, his eleventh symphony under the capacity of SPO's resident composer if the memory serves, are both commissioned by Shanghai Philharmonic to glorify the Party at its centenary. The concert is part of the Shanghai Spring Int'l Music Festival (SSIMF).
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is on the other hand on tour in China, performing in the cities which played a decisive role in the Party’s survival and flourish, including Chairman Mao’s birth place, and of course Shanghai where the Party was born in 1921.