The China Philharmonic Orchestra and star soloists, including Lang Lang, will embrace the Silk Road in concert next week.

At the end of 1991, 27-year-old Yu Long had just finished his studies at the Berlin Hochschule der Kunste and was appointed chief conductor of the China Central Opera House. The young conductor’s ambition to promote classical music in China started with the New Year Concert at the Great Hall of the People on Jan 1, 1992, which was the first New Year concert in China since 1949.

Two decades have passed, and more Chinese people have become used to going to a concert to celebrate the New Year. In Beijing, you have dozens of choices of orchestras from all over the world. But Yu and his China Philharmonic Orchestra always have star soloists and a less routine program than Strauss and the Radetzky March.

On Dec 30, Yu will conduct the orchestra in concert at the China National Convention Center with the theme of the Silk Road. The program will feature pianist Lang Lang, soprano Lei Jia and some ethnic musicians. Yu established the orchestra in 2000 and serves as its artistic director.

Sponsored by China Central TV and Audi, the concert will be broadcast live on CCTV’s music channel.

Yu says it wasn’t difficult to decide this year’s theme. During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, he initiated the Silk Road Economic Belt to revitalize the ancient, prosperous route from China via Central Asia and Russia to the Mediterranean Sea.

“The Silk Road, which linked traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, nomads and dwellers, was not only a trade route but was also important for the development of Chinese culture and civilization,” says Yu.

“It’s an interesting theme to program a concert. We can choose music by both Chinese and Western composers portraying the regions along the route.”

He notes that the concert will take the audience to explore the Silk Road from Chang’an, then capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), heading west to Xinjiang, Russia, the Middle East and Rome.

On Dec 30, artistic director of the Pilharmonic Orchestra Yu Long will conduct the orchestra in concert at the China National Convention Center with the theme of the Silk Road.[Photo/China Daily]

The concert will begin with Hector Berlioz’s Le Carnaval Romain, a festive overture perfect for the occasion.

Next comes the violin concerto Sun Shining Over Toxkhurghon. On the east edge of the Pamir plateau, Toxkhurghon Tajik now is an autonomous county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The composer Chen Gang wrote the piece in 1976 based on the Tajik folk songs Beautiful Toxkhurghon and Spring in Pamir.

The concerto will feature two young violinists: Ma Qiaorong, 13, and He Shucong, 22. Both are gold prize winners of the 2014 CCTV Violin Competition. Ma won the junior category.

CCTV began a classical music competition in 2008. Every year, talented young pianists, violinists and cellists rise to fame from the screen.

“CCTV’s competition has helped to discover many young talents while one of the CPO’s missions is to promote Chinese musicians. So we would like to invite those new faces to share the stage with stars, such as Lang Lang,” says Yu.

Next, you will hear the music from Central Asia. That’s Russian composer Alexander Borodin’s (1833-87) symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia.

Then there will be some new works featuring folk instruments scored by Chinese composers.

Composed by Zou Ye, Muqam Fantasy is a concerto featuring a four-stringed instrument, aijieke, which originated from ancient Persia (now Iran) and is still popular among Uygur, Tajik, Armenian and Kashmiri people.

The Uygur instrumentalist Gulinaer Yiming will play the aijieke. The Urumqi-born, 46-year-old musician is versatile with many folk instruments.

Duo: Concerto for Cello & Sheng was composed by Zhao Lin on commission from the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013. The famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Chinese sheng player Wu Tong premiered the work with the CPO in its 2013 season.

The composer says that the concerto is based on the story of Monk Xuanzang’s journey to the West in the Tang Dynasty. It is said Xuanzang suffered a lot along the way and finally obtained the Buddhist sutras.

Duo in Chinese Buddhism also means helping people to overcome suffering and reach final peace. So the music features both a Buddhist aura and many different local flavors along Xuanzang’s journey from Tang capital Chang’an to the West, which is partly the same as the Silk Road.

“The wind instrument sheng was used for royal court and religious rituals in ancient China, and it is the instrument I think best interprets the Silk Road theme. The cello is the instrument representing human beings. So it’s the dialogue between the gods and the people,” Zhao says.

At the New Year Concert, Wu Tong will play sheng and the cello will be played by Zhao Yunpeng, the CPO’s first cello.

Lang Lang will perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; the jazzy piece is another perfect festival choice.

Both Lang Lang and Yu Long are Audi ambassadors. The New Year Concert is also the final concert of the 2014 Audi Music Season, which started in October and included Lang Lang’s national tour.

“Music events all over the world need patrons. I really appreciate Audi’s support for the development of classical music in China. The company not only gives us financial support but also shares with us its world resources, such as helping us to work with the Salzburg Festival,” says Yu, who is also the founder and director of the annual Beijing Music Festival. Audi has been the main sponsor of that festival for many years.