Jumping in on the action

Art gone digital

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) was among the first State-owned cultural institutions in China to release its own NFTs, having done so in March.

The reception was overwhelming. Ten thousand copies of China's first symphony recording, each priced at 19.9 yuan ($2.86), sold out within a minute.

The audio file contains the 1929 recording of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra's performance of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla's (1876-1946) ballet music El Amor Brujo, which featured conductor Mario Paci (1878-1946) and violinist Arrigo Foa (1900-1981).

"It was gone so quickly that the staff failed to buy any," said Lu Jing, who is responsible for merchandise development at the SSO.

Lu expressed regret that she could not get a copy of the NFT for Xu Shen, who donated the original vinyl recording left by his late father Xu Buzeng to the SSO in 2020.

The original vinyl later became a part of the collection of Shanghai Symphony Museum, which is run by the SSO. The orchestra also launched a ceramic ware series inspired by the vinyl disc last year.

With a history of 142 years, the SSO is the first symphony orchestra in China. Originally called the Shanghai Public Band, the organization was renamed the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra in 1922. Under the baton of the Italian conductor Paci, the orchestra promoted Western music and trained young Chinese talent and was the first to introduce Chinese orchestral music to audiences.