Famous Austrian conductor to make first China visit

The New Year Concert at Shanghai Grand Theater is expected to offer more of a taste of Vienna, with the participation of famous Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Most on his first trip to China.

Together with Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and Shanghai Opera House Chorus, Welser-Most will present two concerts in total, on December 30 and 31, with the theme of “Viennese Night” and “Beethoven Symphony No.9” respectively.

All of the seven works for “Viennese Night” on December 30 were selected by Welser-Most. While keeping the general ambience bright and breezy, he is determined to bring a New Year’s concert with something new, just like he did for Vienna New Year’s Concert in 2011. 

The program list includes Schubert’s Symphony No.3 in D Major, Johann Strauss II’s Walzer Aus den Bergen, and Czardas from Ritter Pazman, which are rarely heard at concerts.

“We are so lucky to have such abundant works for classical music — there are more than 100 pieces by Strauss alone. We don’t have to always repeat those limited pieces. We should give audiences a chance to discover something new,” Welser-Most said. “Of course, there are difficulties for playing those rarely played pieces, such as to get the music scores.”

Welser-Most keeps more than 7,000 scores at his home to satisfy his curiosity for music. 

And he now also embraces a huge curiosity for China, too. When he received an invitation from Shanghai Grand Theater, he changed his original vacation plans just so he could make it.

“I am a big fan of Chinese culture, especially traditional Chinese medicine. I am eager to know more about the country and people,” he said.

Welser-Most arrived in Shanghai five days before the concert to rehearse with the orchestra and chorus so they could give great shows.

“I am impressed by the flexibility of the orchestra, which is very important,” said Welser-Most.

This will not be the only visit of Welser-Most in 2018 — he will soon come back with Vienna Philharmonic, he said.

And as the music director of Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Welser-Most plans to revisit China again with the orchestra in 2019, and probably every two years after that.

Performance details

Date: December 30-31, 7:30pm
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater
Address: 300 People’s Avenue
Tickets: 80-980 yuan
Tel: 400-106-8686