Featuring Jane Birkin and an experimental interpretation of Pink Floyd, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's (SSO) summertime festival Music in the Summer Air is about to swerve into the season with this year's theme, "Swinging Sixties."

The two-week festival, now in its seventh year, differs from traditional, classical programs within concert halls, catering more to general listeners and bringing in crossovers of music, visual art and technology.

"Instead of confining itself to classical music, this year's festival focuses on representatives of music and other art forms in different cultures back in the 1960s and 1970s," said Wang Xiaoting, the program director for the festival.

Jane Birkin

Homage to an era

Jane Birkin, the France-based English singer and actress who emerged in the Swinging London scene in the 1960s, will perform on July 9 with SSO.

Titled the Gainsbourg Symphonic Concert, the show honors Birkin's cooperation with French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she released the famous (or infamous) chart-topping "Je t'aime … moi non plus."

The night will start with "Jane B" and "L'anamour," both from the artist's 1969 album Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg. Other numbers include "La Javanaise," which Gainsbourg wrote in 1963 and Birkin later covered live.

On July 5, pioneering French artist Thierry Balasse will direct a performance on a new rendition of The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), one of the most acclaimed albums by English rock band Pink Floyd.

The adaptation, largely based on symphonic instruments, sees the fusion of classical music and rock'n'roll.

Wang gave a sneak preview into how two of the album's tracks, "Time" and "Money," would be performed. For one thing, the sounds of a cash counter tallying bills and a large clock, all set live onstage, will be amplified.

In 13 Most Beautiful Songs for Andy Warhol, on July 13, singers and instrumentalists Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips will perform folk music from the 1960s and 1970s to accompany Warhol's short films under the title of Screen Tests.

Meanwhile, Martin Grubinger, an Austrian percussionist, will headline an outdoor concert with his band, the Percussive Planet Ensemble, on July 11.

Grubinger's playlist will begin with his own 10-minute work "L.A. Fusion," and go on to include Sting's "Send Your Love" and Frank Sinatra's "Strike Up the Band."

It is one of the five concerts that will be played at the Shanghai Urban Music Lawn, which is free and open to the public.

Dean Wareham

Light of summer

Other highlights include the opening concert The Light of Summer on July 2, during which Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov and the New York Philharmonic (NYP), under the baton of Alan Gilbert, will perform the debut of a titular piece.

Wang highly recommended Trifonov, the Tchaikovsky Competition 2011 gold medal winner.

"There are quite a few renowned piano competitions in the world annually, but he is the rare one to emerge from a top-tier competition and then win top-tier performance opportunities and reputation over the past 10 years," Wang said.

The NYP will then perform Peter and the Wolf and selections from Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks at the New York Philharmonic Young People Concert on July 3, and later play to Chaplin's timeless silent film City Lights on July 7.

An unmissable night for classical fans would be multiple Grammy Award-winning American violinist Gil Shaham's performance on July 4, during which the master will play six Bach solos that are among the most technically demanding of Bach's compositions. The concert will be complemented by visual imagery from filmmaker David Michalek.

Music and art from East Asia is in no way overlooked. The sought-after Japanese director Shunji Iwai will bring his band Hec & Pascal to perform the background music in his films.

They include Debussy's "Claire de lune" from All About Lily Chou-Chou, "A Winter Story" and "Small Happiness" from Love Letter, and "Theme of Yen Town" from Swallowtail Butterfly.

Gil Shaham Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Friendly price

Pricing for this year's festival scales fairly low, with tickets for each performance at 100 yuan ($15.14), 150 yuan and 300 yuan, in addition to the five free outdoor concerts.

About 70 percent of all seating falls under the 100- and 150-yuan ticket tier. This year the festival is also instituting open seating, instead of numbered seats.

Moreover, full-time students from local universities, high schools and middle schools can purchase tickets to any concert at 80 yuan.

Date: July 2 to 15

Venue: Shanghai Symphony Hall; Shanghai Urban Music Lawn

Address: 1380 Fuxing Road Middle

复兴中路1380号; 523 Yan'an Road East

延安东路523号

Call 4008-210-522 for details