No symphony orchestra could claim a more bizarre course of development than China’s Central Philharmonic Orchestra. As the first state-level western orchestra in China’s long history, the 80-player ensemble was a strange spectacle in Mao’s revolutionary China. The 40-year account of Central Philharmonic Orchestra is a musical manifestation of the country’s volatile history in the second half of the 20^th Century. Based on archival research and interviews with over 100 orchestra members and guest performers over a course of 10 years, History of China Central Philharmonic Orchestra (Joint Publishing, H.K. 2009) documents important but rarely known music activities, such as private performances for Marshal Montgomery in the 1960s, Henry Kissinger and Edward Heath in the 1970s. It also collaborated with a league of classical music celebrities, including David Oistrakh, Evgeny Svetlanov, Eugene Ormandy, Herbert con Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin, Seiji Ozawa, Fou Tsong etc.

The presentation will look into the issues involved in the study of Chinese state-level art institute, especially the challenges that came with it. Historic pictures and audio-visual sources of the orchestra will also be featured.