07:00 pm
Zhang Yi Conductor
Sun Yutong Piano
Zhang Ying Composer
Frederik Hanssen Introduction
ZHANG YING · Academic Festival Overture (German Premiere)
CHEN QIGANG · „Er Huang“ Concerto for piano and orchestra (2009)
ANTON BRUCKNER · Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1871-1872)
The Orchestra of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music is doubtlessly the one to travel furthest to this summer’s Young Euro Classic. Founded only five years ago, it has already performed the complete symphonies of Beethoven in its own concert series. The programme chosen for Berlin reflects a similar ambition: in the first part, the piano concerto Er Huang will be performed, in which the composer Qigang Chen interweaves traditional melodies from his hometown of Beijing into a modern orchestral work. It was none other than Lang Lang who performed the world premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2009. After the interval, the main symphonic work is Bruckner’s Second Symphony: in its mix of monolithic sections and ceremonious progression, it already bears all the hallmarks of Bruckner’s art. The youth orchestra from Zhejiang opens its concert with a brand-new piece: an Academic Festival Overture by Zhang Ying, which will surely – so we assume, it is brand-new, after all! – refer to the famous eponymous work by Johannes Brahms.
Introduction and Q&A at 6:00 PM with Frederik Hanssen in the Werner-Otto Saal. Entry with a concert ticket.
Language: German.
The Orchestra Academy of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music was founded in 2020 and includes students from China and abroad. Its artistic director is Zhang Yi, who is also the chief conductor of the National Ballet of China and artistic director of the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra. The academy benefits from the pedagogical and artistic resources of the conservatory and the symphony orchestra to ensure a professional platform for the training of its students. It emphasizes systematic and comprehensive practical training and organizes its own concert season to this end. During the five years since its founding, the orchestra has performed all nine Beethoven Symphonies as well as classical and romantic works by composers such as Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bruckner and Schubert. Furthermore, the students work with experienced coaches from other conservatories and orchestras, preparing for their careers as orchestral players.
The Chinese conductor Zhang Yi studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and then continued his conducting studies with Max Pommer at the Saarbrücken Music Academy from 2000 to 2003. He is one of the most influential conductors in China, holding the position of chief conductor at the National Ballet of China, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra. Apart from the leading Chinese orchestras, Zhang Yi has performed with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cuba Symphony Orchestra and the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra. He has conducted numerous world premieres of Chinese works, such as the ballet Raise the Red Lantern, and the Chinese premieres of Mozart’s Mass in C-minor and Rossini’s Stabat Mater. In 2024, he conducted the National Philharmonic Orchestra of China in Abu Dhabi and appeared in the official concert commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Born in Tianjin in 1995, Sun Yutong received his first piano lessons at the age of seven. He went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Mass., where he also completed his performance degree. At the moment, Sun Yutong is artist-in-residence at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. In addition to numerous prizes at international competitions, including the International Piano Competition in Jaén, Spain (2012), the pianist also gave successful performances at halls such including the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Bolshoi Hall in St. Petersburg and the Warsaw Philharmonic. He is an active chamber musician and released the CD Lumina in 2025, which features the late piano works Opus 116-119 by Johannes Brahms.
The Chinese composer Zhang Ying, born in Wuhan in 1983, is a professor of composition at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. During recent years, her works have been performed frequently at major music festivals and theatres, including outside of China. In March 2019, UNESCO invited her to participate in the “International Conference of Women Composers” in Paris. Her works are rooted in Chinese local culture, drawing melodic essence and spiritual depth from traditional music while integrating modern compositional techniques. Among Zhang Ying’s most important works are the piano trio Black and White (2017), the composition for chamber orchestra Dust (2020, Endless Life for erhu and Chinese orchestra (2018), the piano variations Flowing Clowds (2019), Deep in the Clouds – Tea Picking for two pianos (2022) and the orchestral suite Cloud Streams and Scenic Landscapes (2023).
Frederik Hanssen, born in 1969 in Berlin, studied musicology and French philology in his hometown as well as in Clermont-Ferrand and Milan. From 1998 until the end of 2025, he worked as an editor for classical music at the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel. In addition to his journalistic work, he is active in music education serving as the author of programme booklets, concert moderations, and speaker for introductory lectures. Frederik Hanssen lives with his family in Berlin and Rome.