The Trans-Siberian Art Festival presents Harbin Symphony Orchestra on the stage of Novosibirsk Philharmonic

Harbin Symphony Orchestra will perform in Arnold Kats State Concert Hall on 22nd of March in the framework of the 6th Trans-Siberian Art Festival. The orchestra was created in 1908 as the First Symphony Orchestra of the Chinese Eastern Railway Club (CER), the southern branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Muhai Tang (China) will be the conductor.

Member of the International Competition of Herbert von Karajan (1983), at whose invitation has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Muhai Tang in different years was the principal conductor of the Orchestra of the Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian, the Royal Orchestra of Flanders, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish National Opera, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra Belgrade. He has an extensive discography in his creative arsenal, and the recording of the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by Christopher Rose under Muhai Tang’s conduction was awarded the Grammy award (2002).

The core of the concert program will be the performance of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra “A Dream in the Red Chamber” (version 2018), created by Claudia Yang in creative collaboration with the Hungarian composer Gyula Fekete. Pianist Claudia Yang is a long-time fan of Chinese literature. The world-famous classic novel “A Dream in the Red Chamber” by Cao Xueqin suggested to her the idea of combining Chinese literature with the Western European musical tradition, combining the traditional culture of China with modernity. Claudia decided to put the classical novel into the basis of a piano concerto - an original composition that would become another cultural bridge between Chinese and Western civilizations.

In 2013, Claudia’s idea was supported by the Ennova Culture Group, which became a sponsor of the creation and promotion of the concert. Hungarian composer Gyula Fekete was recruited to work on it - Claudia chose her after consulting with several composers from around the world. The concert consists of four parts: “Fairy in Sorrow”, “Love Ode”, “Dream in Vanity”, “Beauty’s Ballad”.

The concert will also include Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” by Antonin Dvorak, created under the impression of the composer’s trip to the USA, and Concerto Grosso no. 11 from “L'Estro armonico” (D minor, RV 565) by Antonio Vivaldi performed by the conductor’s daughter 15-year-old violinist Susan Tang and Albina Haibullina, a graduate of the Novosibirsk Special Music School, participating in the project “School of Masters” of the Trans-Siberian Art Festival, thanks to which Albina is currently a student at Folkwang University of the Arts (Essen, Germany).