Shanghai Symphony Orchestra musicians perform during a concert in Shanghai on September 8, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) kicked off its 2024-25 season on Sunday with a grand opening concert.    

Founded in 1879, the SSO, also the oldest orchestra in China, is celebrating its 145th anniversary in 2024. 

"The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's season is highly anticipated worldwide. Here the audience can not only hear the sounds of the world but also experience the vibrant energy of Chinese culture," music director Yu Long said.

The 2024-25 season's program includes 29 band concerts, 12 chamber music performances, five Music Map classes, six rush-hour concerts, and 32 visiting artist concerts.

Renowned German baritone Matthias Goerne, a recipient of classical music's most prestigious awards, joins as the season's artist-in-residence. Notable artists such as Leo Nucci, Daniel Harding, Jaap van Zweden, Charles Dutoit, Chinese conductor Li Xincao and pipa virtuoso Zhao Cong are scheduled to perform during the season. 

Highlights include a semi-staged production of Porgy and Bess in October and Verdi's Rigoletto in March 2025. Both Elliot Ho Yat Leung's commissioned work, inspired by Chinese culinary culture, and Zhou Long's new version of Nine Songs, inspired by the ancient text Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) by Chinese poet Qu Yuan (340BC-278BC), will have their world premieres.

Pianist Liu Xiaoyu performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 to open the concert on Sunday. Liu rose to fame after winning the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 2021.

This concert also marked Liu's first collaboration with the SSO on a concerto. In 2023, he also made his solo debut on this very stage in Shanghai.

"Last year, when I performed a solo concert here, I found the acoustics in the hall to be very well-suited for solo performances. This time, the concerto is actually more in a chamber music style, which fits perfectly with the world-class sound quality of the Shanghai Symphony Hall," Liu said.

Amid applause from the audience, Liu returned to the stage for an encore, playing Chopin's flowing and moving Nocturne in C-sharp minor, followed by Tchaikovsky's lively Dance of the Little Swans.

Since winning the Chopin competition, Liu has performed over 100 concerts globally each year. Liu said he hopes to share his thoughts with people from different cultures.

"I think it's a rather interesting endeavor. Even with the same piece, the interpretation varies in different cultural contexts," Liu told the Global Times.

When asked if he encourages young musicians to participate in competitions, Liu said, "Everyone has their own path. Competitions aren't the only way. I was aiming for a good platform. It's undeniable that everyone wants to win first place, but during the preparation process, I had already forgotten about that. By the end of the competition, objectively, it's a contest between people, but subjectively, it's a contest with yourself."

Regarding the promotion of classical music through social media, Liu expressed mixed feelings. Noting that he is concerned that people may be addicted to social media, become lazy, and prefer to watch videos from home instead of attending concerts, he said that he hopes more people will come to live performances as a result of his efforts.

"In the past, people didn't have access to so many different versions of pieces, relying entirely on teachers or their own research," Liu said. 

He hopes that now with the abundance of video resources, people will cherish classical music more.