Colin Clarke
Friday, February 23, 2024

With a brand-new music director and all-new faculty, YMCG has embarked on a new chapter this year. Colin Clarke returns to China to experience what the education festival has to offer

Daniel Harding: ‘The progress has been phenomenal, and in the end that’s how you judge a project like this’ (Image courtesy of YMCG)

My trip to the Chinese capital in October – which brought me to the capital for the Beijing Music Festival – well and truly whet my appetite for further discoveries within the country’s classical music scene so I jumped at the opportunity to continue my explorations in East Asia in 2024. I travelled to South China’s Guangdong Province for a series of concerts given by talented youngsters as part of YMCG (Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area), the annual ‘symphonic learning and experience programme’ and festival which forms a vital part of music education for young musicians in China. This year, the focus was firmly on youth and mentoring, as the YCMG embarks on a fresh chapter, with the arrival of new music director Daniel Harding – and an entirely new faculty.

The goal ‘will always be to provide opportunities for young musicians in China, in Asia, to work with great musicians. We want participants to go away and spread the word’ (Image courtesy of YMCG)

The list of faculty members, trusted teachers and mentors, is long and impressive, offering a unique experience within China. They include: Lorraine Campet, double-bass (co-principal with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France from 2015 to 22), Fabien Thouand (whose experience includes periods as principal oboe at St Cecilia and La Scala), Christopher Parkes (solo horn with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra), Jonathan Reith (principal trombone with Orchestre de Paris) and Gareth Davies (flute with London Symphony Orchestra). Each one gave their all, whether mentoring chamber groups or supporting Harding in rehearsal.

“The most important thing is what we can bring to society artistically today”

Described on its website as ‘an open and all-embracing international platform,’ YMCG began in 2017, presented by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture, co-organised by Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Xinghai Concert Hall. The main showcase of this annual gathering is the YMCG Symphony Orchestra, comprising young musicians from all over China – and abroad – of Chinese descent. Chen Qing, director of the YMCG Executive Committee and president of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, says the goal ‘will always be to provide opportunities for young musicians in China, in Asia, to work with great musicians. We want participants to go away and spread the word. It’s culture, more than music.’

YMCG was founded by Long Yu (pictured below), who to this day serves as chairman of the festival’s Artistic Committee. This year, conductor Daniel Harding takes over from Yo-Yo Ma as artistic director (contracted until 2028). Also from 2024, YMCG is co-organised by five music institutions in the Greater Bay Area: the Guangzhou Symphony, Xinghai Concert Hall, Shenzhen Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Macao Orchestra, and has been renamed from ‘Youth Music and Culture Guangdong’ to ‘Youth and Music Culture The Greater Bay Area’ (although the acronym remains the same).

Daniel Harding: ‘Long Yu has repertoire ideas that are incredibly ambitious, and I like that. We hope the buzz from this year will spread the word and enlarge the pool of applicants.’ (Image courtesy of YMCG)

Yu’s enthusiasm is infectious. ‘The most important thing is what we can bring to society artistically today,’ he says. ‘Not just Western music, but the most interesting contemporary Chinese music. Arts and musicians are the best ambassadors to bring everything together.’ Chamber music is a vital part of that. ‘Everyone should learn how to listen, even husband and wife. For me personally, it is very important to support the young generation. They are the future.’

The new artistic director, Daniel Harding, has a distinguished history (Yu described Harding as, simply, ‘a Wunderkind, a genius’). He will also be taking over at Rome’s Santa Cecilia from October 2024; and he is unique in enjoying a dual life as an airline pilot for Air France. He is also keen to place emphasis on the importance of chamber music within the YMCG experience. ‘Those were the moments when the kids came out of their shells, where they built a close bond with their coaches, and where they show their personality.’  Vitally, Harding says, ‘the students need to know it’s OK to fail’.

“Arts and musicians are the best ambassadors to bring everything together.”

As far as plans moving forward are concerned, Harding says, ‘Long Yu has repertoire ideas that are incredibly ambitious, and I like that. We hope the buzz from this year will spread the word and enlarge the pool of applicants.’ I do have to ask, though, whether Harding would encourage the daring he himself exhibited when, aged 17, he sent a recording of his 1992 performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire to Simon Rattle? ‘I think if someone’s going to play music, they have to put themselves out there,’ he ripostes.

The new piece at this year’s edition is by Hong Kong native Elliot Leung. Aureate Skylines is a commission from the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. ‘Aureate’, meaning golden, can also refer to ‘highly ornamented,’ and Leung confirms there is a definite play on that in his work. ‘They wanted me to write something about the Greater Bay. People fill the buildings; the interaction of cultures, that’s the ornamentation for me’. Leung’s score is vibrant, using timbre as a structural component, and the YMCG orchestra triumphed in its performance, particularly in the Shenzhen concert. The use of the dizi (a Chinese transverse bamboo flute) and the suona (a double-reed, ‘blasting, loud instrument’) is apt, while a cor anglais pays homage to the Dvořák 9 in the concerts’ second half.

Ruifeng Lin : ‘YMCG is unique not only because of the great faculty and conductors, but also because I get to meet young musicians from all over the world. Differences between style and culture can melt together.’

The orchestra works with soloists at the highest level: noted violinist Vilde Frang and violist Amihai Grosz (founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet and principal viola of the Berlin Philharmonic, playing a 1570 Gasparo de Salò). The rehearsals revealed instant connection, resulting in ever-fresh performances; Harding is the perfect collaborator, clear and inspirational.

It was fascinating to talk to a couple of this year’s participants. Ruifeng Lin (who played the Brahms in the YMCG 2024 opening concert) is the leader of the orchestra and currently at graduate school in Shanghai. ‘YMCG is unique not only because of the great faculty and conductors, but also because I get to meet young musicians from all over the world. Differences between style and culture can melt together.’

“I get to meet young musicians from all over the world – differences between style and culture can melt together”

Horn player Luoxian He, currently of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony), says. ‘It’s great to be home – I was born in Guangzhou’. He played principal in the whole concert and exuded confidence. As to what this festival offers that others don’t: ‘The faculty, it’s nowhere to be matched. YMCG might be on the same level as Aspen and Tanglewood in the future’.

The actual concerts in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong were of a high standard, with the Shenzhen event offering the most consistent excellence. The final word should go to Daniel Harding: ‘The progress has been phenomenal, and in the end that’s how you judge a project like this’.

https://www.classical-music.uk/features/article/more-than-music-china-s-ymcg-turns-over-a-new-leaf

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will prsent the Closing Concert of the 2024 Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area (YMCG). Set to take place from 20 January to 1 February 2024, the YMCG has been presented by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism since 2017. The project will be hosted by five music institutions in the Greater Bay Area, namely the HK Phil, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO), Xinghai Concert Hall, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra and Macao Orchestra, for the first time in 2024. As a grand finale, the Closing Concert will be held on 31 January 2024 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.

The Chairman of the Artistic Committee of the YMCG is Long Yu, Principal Guest Conductor of the HK Phil and Life Honorary Music Director of the GSO. The Music Director of the YMCG is Daniel Harding, Music and Artistic Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A three-day worldwide audition was conducted from 28 to 30 October 2023 in Shenzhen. A total of 84 talented performers were selected to join the 2024 YMCG and form a youth orchestra. 55 of them are from renowned music schools and universities in Mainland China and Overseas. Institutions in the China include the Central Conservatory of Music of China, the China Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Tianjin Juilliard School, as well as the most important music institutions in the Greater Bay Area – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou and The School of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). Overseas institutions include Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore; New England Conservatory of Music and Juilliard School in the US; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the UK; University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar in Germany; University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in Austria; Kyung Hee University in South Korea, etc. They are joined by 24 young musicians from 16 professional Chinese orchestras, and five individuals from other industries.

The selection panel consists of renowned violinist Vera Xu, Director of Orchestral Studies and Academic Department of the School of Music of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Huang Yi, the Music Director of the GSO; and Lorenzo Iosco, the HK Phil’s Associate Principal Bass Clarinet. The entire audition was supervised by Chen Qing, Director of YMCG Executive Committee and President of the GSO.

Over the span of two weeks, the 2024 YMCG will feature an array of events including symphonic concerts, chamber concerts, masterclasses, community performances, chamber music salons, faculty workshops, open rehearsals and “Music + Dialogue” events. Concerts open to the public will be presented in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Under the guidance and mentorship of Daniel Harding, as well as 13 professional musicians from international orchestras, including the HK Phil’s Principal Bassoon Benjamin Moermond and Associate Principal Bass Clarinet Lorenzo Iosco, the young musicians will come together to deliver the Closing Concert in Hong Kong. The evening will commence with Aureate Skylines (Hong Kong premiere) by Hong Kong composer Elliot Leung, and conclude with Dvořák’s Symphony no. 9, From the New World . One of the brightest shining young violinists Vilde Frang and violist Amihai Grosz from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will grace the stage and perform Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante along with the youth orchestra.

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), a masterclass and a chamber music concert will be held on 1 February 2024 (Thu). Details will be announced on YMCG’s website Click Here, HKAPA’s website hkapa.edu and HK Phil’s website hkphil.org.

“2024 Youth Music Culture the Greater Bay Area Closing Concert” will be held on 31 January 2024 (Wed) at 8pm in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$580, $460, $340 and $220 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.
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Artists

Daniel Harding, conductor

Daniel Harding is the Music and Artistic Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was the Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris from 2016 to 2019 and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2017. He is honoured with the lifetime title of Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has worked for over 20 years. In 2020, he was named Conductor in Residence of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Seasons. In 2024, he will take up the position of Music Director of the Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area for a five-year term.

Vilde Frang, violin

Vilde Frang was unanimously awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2012 and made her debut with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival. Highlights among her recent and forthcoming solo engagements include performances with Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and the NHK Symphony in Tokyo.

Amihai Grosz, viola

Amihai Grosz was a quartet player (founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet) at first, then and until today Principal Violist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and also a renowned soloist. At a very early age, he received various grants and prizes and was a member of the “Young Musicians Group” of the Jerusalem Music Center, a program for outstanding young musical talents. As a soloist, Grosz has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Klaus Mäkelä, Ariel Zukermann, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Alexander Vedernikov and Lionel Bringuier. He performs internationally with orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/HK-Phil-to-Host-Closing-Concert-of-2024-Youth-Music-Culture-the-Greater-Bay-Area-20231222

The 2024 Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area (YMCG) will be held from 20 January to 1 February 2024 in the heart of the Greater Bay Area. Organized by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the project will be hosted for the first time by five internationally renowned music institutions in the Greater Bay Area: the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Xinghai Concert Hall and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra from Guangdong, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra from Hong Kong and the Macao Orchestra from the Macao Special Administrative Region. Mr Long Yu, Life Honorary Music Director of GSO and renowned conductor, is the Chairman of the Artistic Committee of YMCG, and Daniel Harding, internationally renowned conductor, is the Music Director.

From 28-30 October, YMCG held a three-day, worldwide audition in Shenzhen, the core engine city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Seventy percent of the applicants were young performers from 70 renowned music schools in China, Russia, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Philippines, and other countries and regions, as well as conservatories of comprehensive universities. Applicants for the 2024 YMCG Symphony Orchestra also include young musicians from more than 20 Chinese professional orchestras, including the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra and others. YMCG also received applications from the Hong Kong Baptist University Joint International College of Beijing Normal University, PricewaterhouseCoopers and other organizations.

The selection process lasts for three days. applicants can choose between live audition or video-recorded auditions. The string examiners are Director of Orchestral Studies and Academic Department of the School of Music of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), renowned violinist and educator Vera Xu; and the wind and percussion examiners are Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, Mr Huang Yi, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Associate Principal Bass Clarinet, Lorenzo Iosco. In order to ensure the fairness, impartiality and openness of the audition, Chen Qing, Director of YMCG Executive Committee and President of GSO, was responsible for supervising the whole audition.

During the intensive selection process on 28th and 29th October, the examiners conducted a strict, detailed and comprehensive assessment of over 1,000 live/recorded performances by hundreds of applicants from home and abroad. On 30th October, the three examiners held a special meeting to determine the shortlist and the orchestra seating order, and will gradually notify the selected applicants after the official confirmation by the Music Director Daniel Harding.

Chen Qing said, YMCG focuses on long-term development, to promote the development of youth culture as a responsibility: “YMCG is a courageous exploration of promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area and the high-quality development of Guangdong, the success of the practice. The large number of applicants, the wide range of countries and regions involved, and the diverse cultural backgrounds of the applicants are all testimony to and affirmation of the vibrant cultural vitality of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area.”

Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) is an annual two-week training programme for young musicians in Guangzhou, China, spearheaded by Ma

Leading cellist Yo-Yo Ma is to launch Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) on 7 January 2017 – an annual two-week training programme for young musicians in Guangzhou, China. The new event is the brainchild of Ma, who will serve as its artistic director.

Presented by the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province and organised by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Xinghai Concert Hall, the programme will include concerts, masterclasses, workshops and cultural exchange events, culminating in a performance on 15 January by the YMCG Orchestra and Ma. Included on the faculty will be Michael Stern of the Kansas City Symphony, who will serve as conductor and music director.

Open to musicians between the ages of 18 and 35 from China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, YMCG is designed to promote ‘virtuosity and musicality, cultural awareness and personal artistic development’. All selected students will receive a full scholarship covering tuition and expenses.

‘I believe that any musician or artist should not only be technically proficient, but also be mindful of the power of their art and the need for it in the world,’ said Ma.