Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra Celebrates 60th Anniversary with World Premiere, GSO60 Archive Recordings

In celebration of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra's 60th anniversary, the GSO launched its opening program of the 2017/18 season on September 24 with the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki's Symphony No. 6 ("Chinese Poems") featuring celebrated baritone Chen-Ye Yuan.

The Polish master Penderecki, praised for decades as the Beethoven of our time, remains an eminence in contemporary music. His Symphony No. 6, co-commissioned by the GSO and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, is inspired by Chinese literary culture, with German translations of Tang Dynasty poetry.

The sold-out season-opening celebratory program at the Xinghai Concert Hall was led by GSO Music Director Maestro Long Yu and featured such frequent internationally-renowned collaborators as cellist Jian Wang, baritone Chen-Ye Yuan, pianist Haochen Zhang and violinist Gao Can. The evening also included the Guangzhou Symphony Youth Orchestra (GSYO) appearing on stage.

The September 24th concert opened with a work by one of the 20th century's most iconic composers, Shostakovich's Festive Overture, followed by well-loved works "Song to the Moon" (from Dvorak's Rusalka) and Sarasate's Ziguenerweisen, Chopin's Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante (featuring GSYO), and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

GSO60-Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra: The Archive Recordings was released on September 15 at the 2017 Guangzhou AV Fair. On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, the GSO has selected 60 works from its recording archive of the past two decades, covering such genres and styles as operas, symphonies, Chinese compositions (including GSO commissions and premieres), concertos, song cycles, suites, overtures and symphonic poems, spanning such diverse styles as European baroque and Chinese contemporary. GSO60 has already been considered for the GRAMMYs in the "Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package" and "Best Orchestral Performance" categories.

Since its founding in 1957, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO) has developed into one of China's most prestigious orchestras in its breadth of organization and standard in performance. It is the first and only Chinese symphony orchestra to have toured and performed on five continents. The GSO is also one of the very first orchestras in China to institute a professional concert season. 2017/18 season marks the GSO's 21st season. For more information, visit www.gso.org.cn.