Chinese classics to celebrate Lunar New Year
Image: LEGENDS & LANTERNS.
To help welcome in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, Artists By Any Other Name (ABAON) will host two stunning concerts featuring world class soloists, Li-Wei Qin (cello) and Harmonnia Junus (violin) performing with the Odyssey Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jonathon Lo.
Legends & Lanterns is a joyous celebration that thrilled audiences when it was presented last year in The Concourse. This year, the concert will be held again at The Concourse as well as at Sydney Town Hall.
The program features much-loved pieces from the classical Chinese repertoire, including the Spring Festival Overture, Galloping Horses, as well as a special abridged version of Butterfly Lovers’ “Violin Concerto for Violin and Erhu”, featuring Harmonnia Junus and Fuhua Li. These pieces will be complimented by a selection of Western works including masterpieces by Brahms and Strauss and featuring the dynamic talent of Li-Wei playing Saint Saen’s “Cello Concerto”, it is the ultimate show of supreme skill and orchestra artistry.
Li-Wei Qin is a Chinese Australian cellist who has gained renown around the world for his exceptional solo and ensemble work. He has played with the most esteemed orchestras and performed at two Olympic games (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) among many other notable achievements. Li-Wei Qin was the 2002 Young Australian of the Year.
Australian-born violinist, Harmonnia Junus is the co-founder and Artistic Director of New York based performance collective, Artists By Any Other Name – an interdisciplinary ensemble centred around classical music and contemporary dance. She is also Artistic Director of Young Artist Exchange, a festival where students and teachers from Australia, China and the United States connect through music and the arts.
Hong Kong-born Briton, Jonathan Lo was appointed Music Director & Chief Conductor at the Australian Ballet in 2023, and is also Music Director of Northern Ballet, and Staff Conductor for the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He is a regular guest conductor with ballet companies such as Dutch National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Zurich Ballet and Cape Town City Ballet, and has premiered works by some of the world’s leading choreographers.
Legends & Lanterns is one of the highlights of the 2024 Lunar New Year celebrations and a beautiful example of the rich, multi-textured culture we have in this country.
