NCPA Orchesra of China Australian Premiere by Various, Dvořák, Minn (2012/2012), Surmast Direttur Chen Zuohuang, Sydney Opera House, Sydney City, Australia

For the first time ever, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra visited Australia to perform at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Tuesday 6 November 2012. The concert was performed by a world class orchestra of ninety instrumentalists led by the NCPA’s Artistic Director of Music, Zuohuang Chen. Established in March 2012, the NCPA Orchestra is the orchestra in residence at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra performs regularly as parat of the NCPA’s full programme of high-quality opera and ballet concerts. The NCPA is composed of a team of highly skilled musicians from a number of countries and cultural backgrounds, the vast majority of whom have experience working and studying overseas in Europe and North America. The orchestra’s refined set of technical skills and musical finesse have impressed many well-renowned international artists such as Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Placido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Lang Lang, Stephen Kovacevich, Rudolph Buchbinder, Yuja Wang, and Han-Na Chang. Maestro Lorin Maazel has worked with the orchestra in several operas and concerts, and insists that they are “an excellent, hard-working orchestra with great passion.” The orchestra’s European debut in Kissinger Sommer Festival in July 2012 was highly praised by local media with a review in the Mainpost describing it as “not only precise but also full of ideas, with exhilarating liveliness”. The NCPA Orchestra of China performed a collection of carefully selected masterpieces for their Sydney premiere, including numbers performed by violinist Mr. Feng Ning, the first prize recipient of the Paganini Competition in 2006 and a regular guest artist performing alongside top conductors, orchestras and arts festivals around the world. Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” also featured in the second half of the concert. This was a truly unique opportunity for Sydney’s residents to experience an exquisite music performance while appreciating the top-tier skills and artistry of the NCPA Orchestra.