Orchestras make sweet music outdoors

Virtual events

Meanwhile, some organizers are experimenting with virtual events.

On Aug 20, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra in Jiangsu province announced the program for its 2020-21 season at a virtual news conference supported by 5G and VR technology.

To mark the 250th anniversary of German composer Beethoven's birth, the orchestra will stage a series of live concerts from next month to December featuring conductors Xu Zhong, Chen Xieyang and Tan Lihua, and pianists Zuo Zhang, Yuan Fang and An Tianxu.

From January to July, the orchestra will perform works by German composer Richard Wagner and the Austrian, Gustav Mahler. Pieces by Russian composers, including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitri Shostakovich and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, will also be staged by the orchestra.

The Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 2016, comprises more than 70 musicians from some 20 countries and regions, including China, Japan, South Korea and the United States. The musicians' average age is 30.

To celebrate its fourth birthday, the orchestra will tour eight cities in November, including Chongqing and locations in Yunnan and Hunan provinces.

Jiang Wenlong, from the orchestra's publicity department, said that since April, the musicians have played chamber music at outdoor concerts every night from 8 pm to 9 pm.

The performances, which are staged for free, are a way for the orchestra to connect with audiences during the pandemic.

"Online and outdoor events are effective ways to get closer to our audiences. Music on a smaller scale will have to step into the breach. That means chamber music played by quartets and trios will be in great demand," Jiang said.