A world of harmony

In 2024, the world of music will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Anton Bruckner. Four concerts featuring the composer's symphonies will be staged throughout the year, including a concert on Jan 27 performing the Austrian composer's Symphony No 4 in E-flat Major — the only symphony of Bruckner's given a subtitle, Romantic, by the composer himself. Conductor David Hoose will perform with the China National Symphony Orchestra during the concert. South Korean cellist Lee Young-eun, the first prize winner of the cello category of the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition, which was held from June 19 to July 1 in Moscow and St. Petersburg, will perform with the orchestra on Dmitri Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No 1 in E-flat Major, Op 107.

Next year also marks the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death. In celebration of his enduring legacy, the China National Symphony Orchestra will perform an opera concert of Puccini's La Boheme, under the baton of conductor Li Xincao, on May 11.

The new season will also bring concerts commemorating the 160th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss and the 175th anniversary of the death of Frederic Chopin.

Besides Western composers, the new season will commemorate Chinese composers, including Huang Zi (1904-38) and Luo Zhongrong (1924-2021), with restaged music pieces.