The Macao Chinese Orchestra will present two concerts this spring in the Grand Auditorium of the Macao Cultural Centre. Affinity to Macao (Sunday, 28th March) and Shanghai Rhapsody (Sunday, 25th April) feature outstanding musical selections representing the spirit of the two cities. Concerts tickets are available at JT Ticket Net outlets, where purchasers may also take advantage of the Orchestra’s special 2+2 Discount Scheme. The concert Affinity to Macao, conducted by the Orchestra’s Artistic Director, Pang Ka Pang, features the premiere of a piece for Chinese orchestra titled Reflections on Macao, a work commissioned by the Orchestra from renowned composer Rao Yuyan. The piece takes the audience on a musical stroll through the Historic Centre of Macao, where Western and Chinese cultures converge, and enchants listers with its Cantonese flair and subtle European flavour. Concertgoers will also be treated to the refreshing orchestral version of Affinity to Macao, a part of which was arranged by famed musician Kuan Nai Chung, performed in its entirety. Shanghai Rhapsody, led by Chen Xieyang, will expose audiences to some of the mellowest hits featuring lyrics by the conductor’s own father, Chen Dieyi. Among them are gems like The Evening Bells of Nanping, I Only Have You and Not Him in My Heart, Lover’s Tears and the Spring Breeze Kisses My Cheek, all of them very emblematic of Shanghai. Also presented will be an orchestral number known as The Chrysanthemum Flower Bed, the enigmatically charming signature tune from the film Curse of the Golden Flower. Originally the brainchild of Jay Chou, this number has been “refashioned”, as it were, into a folk piece by Maestro Chen Xieyang. The piece will be interpreted by the multiple international contest award-winning cellist Zhu Yibing, and erhu player Yu Hongmei, the first ever Chinese musician to perform a solo concert in Carnegie Hall. On the heels of their world premiere performance in Beijing, the soloists will be giving the piece its second-ever rendition in Macao, undoubtedly winning over the local audience with the limitless possibilities of the Chinese folk music style and the innovation of placing Chinese musical instruments side by side with their Western counterparts on the concert stage. Yu Hongmei will also deliver a rousing performance of the Erhu Concerto Red Plum Flower Capriccio. The two concerts will take place in the Grand Auditorium of the Macao Cultural Centre on 28th March and 25th April, respectively. Tickets are now available at JT Ticket Net outlets, priced at MOP 100, 60 and 40. The 2+2 Discount Scheme is available, offering concertgoers two free tickets to one concert with the purchase of two tickets to the other. Ticket outlets include the Net’s Nam Van Office (situated diagonally across from the rear entrance to the CTM shop), the Pedro Coutinho Office (on the 2nd floor of the CTM Building) and the ground floor service centre at CTM’s Taipa Branch. For more information call 2828 2888.
