New York Philharmonic returns to Shanghai

Editor's Note:

International artists have been quick to return to Shanghai since March, when overseas performances were given a green light. Local audiences have impressed both first-time performers and returning artists for their hospitality and sophistication. Shanghai Daily chats with international musicians attending the ongoing Music in the Summer Air (MISA) festival about their return and the recovery of global arts community as well as cultural exchange.

Ti Gong

The New York Philharmonic is back in Shanghai after three years of absence, with an ensemble of nine musicians. The orchestra had become a regular guest performer at the annual Music in the Summer Air (MISA) festival since it first came in 2014.

It had performed six times at the summer fest before the pandemic disrupted performances around the world.

"Shanghai is almost like a second home for us," flutist Yoobin Son told Shanghai Daily the day after their "Back to MISA" concert.

"Memories came back pretty quickly, almost immediately after arrival. It is great to see some of my Shanghai students already working in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and so excited to be back here in person to teach and to perform in Shanghai again."

The New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra jointly established the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in 2014. In addition to the "Back to MISA" concert, musicians from both orchestras will also perform with students from the academy at the summer festival on Wednesday.

"We had some virtual collaborations with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra during the past three years, and of course we taught students remotely, but that's completely different from doing so face to face," said cellist Nathan Vickery.

"It was really fun to be back in the city and the concert hall again, and to feel the audience here in person again, who are so warm ad receptive as always."

Both Son and Vickery had traveled to Shanghai with the orchestra regularly since 2014, though it's the first time they performed in the city in a small ensemble for a chamber concert.

It's also the first time Son sat among the audience members in Shanghai, when she could rest for the second half of the "Back to MISA" concert. There, she realized how many young people in the audience were enjoying the concerts.

"There were many very young children, who were sitting through the entire concert, which isn't a kids' concert," she recalled. "That doesn't always happen in other countries, and it is exciting since it shows bright future for classic music here."

Ti Gong

For the upcoming concert with their students, the musicians picked both classic pieces from Bach and Strauss and contemporary work like "Umoja" from Valerie Coleman.

Named after the Swahili word for unity, it's the signature wind quintet piece by the American composer and flutist and a woman of color.

Such in-person collaborations are also highly appreciated by Gary Ginstling, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, who finds it more important than ever.

"The arts community has had to navigate incredible challenges in recent years, but thankfully our NY Phil audiences are very enthusiastic about returning to hear live symphonic music this past season," he said.

"Our global arts community is on a long road of recovery from the pandemic, and international musical exchange such as MISA is another step forward for us on this shared journey."

Ginstling traveled to Shanghai to unveil another collaboration with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The oratorio "Émigré" follows two Jewish brothers who arrive in Shanghai as refugees in 1938 as they go on to navigate their new lives and find a home and community in the city.

Co-commissioned by maestro Yu Long, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, it will debut on November 17 in Shanghai.

Ti Gong