Overseas famous artists and groups return, "Three Body Problem" and "Metaverse" will start this year's Shanghai Summer Music Festival Music | Shanghai | Music Festival

Every summer, the Lucerne Music Festival, Leisure Music Festival, and Ravinia Music Festival always attract audiences from all over the world. In Shanghai, the annual Shanghai Summer Music Festival will also kick off a summer music carnival. The 2023 Shanghai Summer Music Festival will present 30 performances from both domestic and international events simultaneously from July 7th to 20th at Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Urban Lawn Music Square, and the third space located in Blackstone Apartments. With the theme of "The World Has Sound, The Universe Has Light", this year's MISA will present the vastness of the universe and the diverse collision of Eastern and Western cultures in music, exploring the relationships between people, people and technology, people and the world, and people and the future, and observing the growth of young people.

The Shanghai Summer Music Festival was founded by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. It was hosted by the People's Government of Huangpu District, the People's Government of Xuhui District, Shanghai Radio and Television Station, Shanghai Culture, Radio and Television Group Co., Ltd., and was sponsored by Shanghai Pharmaceuticals. To complement the theme of "Light in the Universe", MISA will set up an AR interactive device in the ticket hall. Viewers can scan the QR code to enter MISA's "Metaverse" virtual world.

Let's have a "Star Trek" in music

At the opening concert on July 7th, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will be led by conductor Jin Yukuang from the post-2000 generation, presenting several symphonic works with the theme of the metaverse and space.

Firstly, it is a symphony adapted by young composer Wang Feinan based on the popular TV drama "Three Body Problem", describing the romance and joys of the Three Body Problem world. Next, there are two works of the same name by Icelandic composer Anna Sowalsdottir and Chinese composer Liang Haoyi, "The Metaverse". The former made its world premiere by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019. In addition to these three recent works, the concert will also feature Holst's "Planetary Suite" created over a hundred years ago, creating a vast sound space with a massive arrangement and gorgeous melodic lines. Four works will lead the audience through interstellar travel in music.

The closing concert on July 20th will be led by Yu Long, the initiator and artistic director of the Shanghai Summer Music Festival, with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and pianist Yin Chengzong performing "The Yellow River". As the most influential and frequently performed piano concerto in the history of Chinese music, "The Yellow River" has become a spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation, and the Shanghai Summer Music Festival will come to an end in a grand melody.

International Musicians Return to MISA

The BBC Symphony Orchestra, West East Symphony Orchestra, Van Zhiden, Ut Lampa, Presner... MISA has always been an important platform for international orchestras and musicians to interact with Chinese audiences. This year, musicians from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra will come to Shanghai again after three years to perform multiple chamber music works by Beethoven, Barber, and Ibel. They will also provide face-to-face lectures, joint rehearsals, and performances for students from Shanghai Band Academy.

The Italian musician ensemble, known as the "best chamber orchestra in the world" by Tuscany, will also make its debut at MISA. The Vivaldi "Four Seasons" recorded by the group in 1955 not only set a world record for classical album sales, but also made "Four Seasons" known to the world. This time in Shanghai, they will pay tribute to Verdi and Vivaldi on-site at MISA, and also perform Piazzolla's works on the lawn.

Vienna Philharmonic Clarinet Chief Daniel Ottensamer, Berlin Philharmonic Cellist Stephen Kontz, and Pianist Christopher Traxler will also come to MISA. Three Austrian artists who have known each other since childhood will perform a trio of composers such as Bruch, Schoenberg, and Zemlinsky in the form of the Ottensamer Clarinet Trio.

Shanghai music fans are familiar with conductor David Stern, who will also return to MISA. The youngest chief of the Zurich National Opera Orchestra, Wang Xiaoming, will embark on an "opera fantasy" on the bowstring, allowing the audience to listen to a violin version of "Magic Flute" and "Camellia Woman". In addition, the Aurora Percussion Duet, which started in the UK, will make its debut on the MISA stage after covering major music festivals in Europe.

Expanding the boundaries of classical music

MISA is the first classical crossover music festival in China, expanding the boundaries of classical music every year. This year, on the stage of MISA, the "Sheng Guan He Ming", "Southern Tune and Northern Tune", and "Empty Valley Echo" concerts will allow the audience to hear the dialogue between Eastern and Western music. Classical guitarist Yang Xuefei and pipa player Sun Ying will perform "Chinese Sketch" using two plucked string instruments. The Zhu Python Jazz Piano Quintet adds a jazz flavor to the classic works of Rachmaninov and Brahms, making Shostakovich's "Second Waltz" even more swinging.

The cellists of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will form a group, bringing Liszt, Chopin, Gershwin, and Queen's bands one by one to the strings. In fact, this is not the first time these performers have gathered, and their recorded "Fourteen Qin Handover" album has been described by fans as a "circulating murmur.". In addition, musician Wang Feinan will monopolize the arrangement, orchestration, and singing to create a unique pop chamber music fusion theater at MISA. The dance "Entropy" directed by Yin Fang and produced and performed by Xie Xin Dance Theater will also appear.

Young musicians set sail here

The Shanghai Summer Music Festival witnessed the departure of many young musicians. Jin Yukuang, a conductor born in the 2000s who took the lead in the opening concert, took off from the "Blue Bird Plan" and grew up at the summer music festival. The GCG Navigation Orchestra, also incubated by the "Bluebird Project," will perform "obscure masterpieces" by Italian composers such as Ibokarini, Vivaldi, and Tartini on the MISA stage.

The MISA stage will also fulfill the promise of the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition to the award-winning players, inviting the third competition winner and the youngest winner since the event, Yoshimoto Rino, to collaborate with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Stern to perform Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major.

Zhang Fang, who won the BBC Young Musician Award at the age of 17, will also perform percussion works of different styles from around the world at the MISA outdoor venue. As the youngest recipient of this world-class award, he will appear on different stages of MISA with his teacher and founder of the Aurora Percussion Duet, Yu Le.

Make music a part of urban life

In 2014, the Urban Lawn Music Square located in Huangpu District became the outdoor venue for the Shanghai Summer Music Festival for the first time. It has been open to the audience for free for ten years, bringing high-quality performances. This year's City Lawn Music Square will present 7 performances with distinct styles. In addition to the Italian Musicians Ensemble and Zhang Fang, there are also two music groups, the Burning Point Vocal Orchestra and the Shanghai Shenshi Pi Ensemble, making appearances.

The "New Yuefu - Gao Bowen and Lu Jinhua Cross border Pingtan Concert" will sing a "jazz style" Pingtan, while the HAYA Band will blow a wind from the grassland on the MISA lawn. On July 15th, composer Li Haiying will lead the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra Choir, singing well-known songs such as "The Curved Moon", "I Don't Want to Say", "Walking in Four Directions", "Song of Seven Sons", and "Crossing the River".

The mission of the Shanghai Summer Music Festival is to focus on the growth of young people and assist in the development of social aesthetics. MISA has nurtured four student music performance groups, including the Shanghai Student Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Student Chorus, Shanghai Student Ethnic Orchestra, and Shanghai Summer Music Festival Student Festival Orchestra. Among them, the Student Festival Band recruits new members each year, with over 600 applicants competing for over 40 band seats this year.

MISA will continue its consistent affordable ticket prices this year and conduct online live broadcasts for 16 concerts. At the same time, MISA has comprehensively upgraded on the basis of previous student tickets and opened a student zone, allowing teenagers to become the protagonists of MISA.

During the music festival, "MISA Classics Across the City" will also flash at multiple "internet famous" landmarks such as Hengfu Style Museum, Blackstone Street, Xiangyang Park, and Xujiahui Academy, to meet with citizens and tourists and help integrate Shanghai's culture and tourism.