Four Seasons Open in Nine Days
Between 5 and 13 September the Shanghai Opera House, the Shanghai Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony and the Suzhou Symphony all open their seasons. An opening programme is usually a statement of intent; read side by side, the four say what each house wants this season to be remembered for.
By 马勒迷5 nightsShanghai Concert Hall / Shanghai Oriental Art Center / Shanghai Symphony Hall / Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre
Every night
An opening concert is rarely a season's best night, but it is usually its most legible one. This is the evening an orchestra decides what it wants to be remembered for: an artist in residence, an anniversary, or a demonstration of scale.
Four houses in nine days is not a coincidence — the first week of September is where a Shanghai season starts. Put the four programmes side by side and the differences are immediate. The Shanghai Symphony bets on the Shostakovich anniversary and on a violinist who runs through the whole season, and does it over two consecutive concerts. The Shanghai Philharmonic pairs choral symphony with a ballet suite and plays for breadth. The Opera House opens with a gala of arias that shows the season's voices in advance. Suzhou calls its evening "Without Borders".
The four belong to four different seasons, and no season page will ever list them together.