Passing on the symphonic baton

The China National Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 70th anniversary with more than a milestone season. It is a tribute to an artistic legacy — one passed from generation to generation through conductors, musicians and audiences who have shaped China's symphonic tradition.

On July 11, the orchestra unveiled its 2026-27 season, built around the theme "Love and Death", featuring 20 symphonic concerts, eight choral performances, five chamber music programs and six special projects.

Bringing together leading international conductors and soloists, the season places contemporary Chinese compositions alongside landmark works from the Western classical repertoire.

"We are confronting some of the oldest questions in human experience: love, mortality and the meaning of life in this new season," says conductor Shui Lan, an artistic adviser to the China National Symphony Orchestra.

"From the very beginning, at least 70 percent of classical music has revolved around these two subjects: love and death," he says. "They embody humanity's eternal search for the meaning of life."

The theme shapes 15 of the orchestra's 20 symphonic programs, exploring how composers across centuries have responded to passion, sacrifice, grief and transcendence.

The season opens with a wide historical panorama: Wagner's Tristan und Isolde Prelude and Liebestod examines love carried to its ultimate sacrifice, while Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration reflects on spiritual transformation at life's end.

Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite revisit Shakespeare's timeless tragedy alongside Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Vaughan Williams' The Merchant of Venice, marking the 410th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

The repertoire also spans the 20th and 21st centuries with works including Arnold Schoenberg's Transfigured Night, Rachmaninoff's The Isle of the Dead, Modest Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death and Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini. Opera and ballet will also feature prominently, including a concert performance of Puccini's Tosca, Rodion Shchedrin's Carmen Suite, Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird and Ravel's Bolero.

Shui says the season has been designed around stories rather than famous titles. "Every concert tells a story," he says. "We hope audiences leave not only appreciating the music but also discovering the connections between different cultures."

One of the most anticipated highlights of the season is the newly commissioned violin concerto The Essence of Love by renowned composer Chen Yi. The work, which will be performed on June 13, 2027, by the China National Symphony Orchestra under Shui's baton, will make its world premiere during the season.