Twelve cellos form a semicircle, the strings reverberate, and Julius Klengel's "Hymn" reverberates like ripples between the bowstrings. On July 4th and 5th, the two concerts of the 12 cellos of the Berliner Philharmoniker at the National Centre for the Performing Arts began with the "Hymn" and continued with a whole night of pure music.
There are dozens of chamber music ensembles in the famous classical "heavenly group" Berliner Philharmoniker, and the 12 cellos of the Berliner Philharmoniker have been established for more than 50 years, making it one of the oldest and most influential chamber music "squads" in the orchestra. Trained in academic music and tested by top orchestras, the musicians are also adept at taking a different path, covering a wide range of genres such as film scores, jazz arrangements, and tango music in addition to the classical repertoire. In the first half of the concert, followed by the German composer Julius Klengel's "Hymn", it was a strong French romance, French neoclassical composer Jean Fransse's "Morning Song", sweet French chanson "Under the Paris Bridge", "La Vie en Rose" and "La Flotiu de Paris" were played one by one, beautiful and gorgeous.
In the second half, the colorful enthusiasm of American music came to the audience, Duke Ellington's jazz masterpiece "Caravan", John Williams's childlike "Cat and Mouse Game", "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tenderly", Bert Bakarak's "South American Escape" brought the audience back to the audience, American pop composer Bert Bakarak's "To Don Augustine Baldi", George Gershwin's "Encourage Your Hands" and "The Father of Tango" Piazzolla's "Goodbye, Nonino" and "Mystic Fugue" show the musical charm of the American continent's diverse collision. The performance of the 12 performers is both tacit and humorous, for example, they will suddenly and quietly imitate an out-of-tune music box, and then quickly return to "normal", bringing shallow laughter from the audience. Although the "Twelve Cellos" use the same instrument, they are clearly layered, sometimes broad and majestic, sometimes sensitive and delicate, and full of expressiveness. In the long-lasting applause of the audience, the performers returned to the venue several times, and the bouquets sent by the staff were also gently presented to the children present.
As a result, the NCPA's 2024 "Walking Classics" concert series officially kicked off. Until July 28, this year's "Walking Classics" will present 16 sets and 20 concerts, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts Chorus, the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, the China Symphony Orchestra, the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra and other art troupes, Chinese and foreign conductors such as Li Xincao, Lu Jia, Liao Guomin, Zhang Yi, and singers and performers such as Mo Hong, Jiang Jianhua, Yang Baoyuan, and Huang Jianyi.