Debra Li

GOOD news for fans of classical music: The Shenzhen Poly Theater will hold a series of charity concerts until December, the best seats for which will cost 160 yuan (US$21) each, and the cheapest tickets only 30 yuan.

The seven programs, performed primarily by young musicians from Europe, will cover strings, brass and piano as well as opera excerpts.

“Seldom has such a series of quality chamber music concerts been performed on the mainland before, offering afficionados the chance to listen to talented young musicians from around the world at a price not much higher than that of a movie ticket,” said Wu Chunyan, vice general manager of the theater.

“Due to a lack of top domestic chamber music orchestras, audiences often have to pay dearly to enjoy concerts by foreign troupes, as the organizers need to make profits,” he added.

Wu said Poly was willing to sacrifice some profits to help cultivate a taste for classic music in the city.

Opening the series will be a concert featuring opera excerpts and a string quartet on the night of May 9.

The Modigliani String Quartet, formed in 2003 by four young musicians studying at the prestigious Music Conservatory of Paris, will perform Franz Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet No.3 in G minor (op.74, Cavalier).” The four, violinists Philippe Bernhard and Loic Rio, viola player Laurent Marfaing, and cellist Francois Kieffer, have flourishing international careers. Kieffer plays a cello made by Grancino in 1700, on loan from Geoffrey Simon, the artistic director of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation.

Joining the show will be pianist Bertrand Halary, soprano Ina Kringelborn, tenor James Elliott and baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer. They will present classic songs like “On Wenlock Edge” by Williams and Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte.”

Following that will be an imaginative mix of suona by Chinese musician Guo Yazhi and saxophone by the Time Out Trio led by Geraldine Laurent from France on the night of May 25. Now the suona principal of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Guo premiered his suona concerto with a modern musical style in 1996, marking a breakthrough in the performance of this traditional Chinese instrument, which won him international fame.

Other maestros-in-the-making scheduled to grace the theater are pianists Mattia Ometto, Dana Ciocarlie, Wu Muye, and the Le Donne Virtuose string quartet from Switzerland.

Concluding the series will be the Jones Maruri duo, the only established cello guitar duo in the world. The members are British cellist Michael Jones and Spanish guitarist Agustin Maruri. Their CD “Original Music for Cello and Guitar” was once a top-10 best seller in the classical market in Hong Kong.

About the Modigliani Quartet

THE quartet won the 2006 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and the 2005 Young Concert Artists European Auditions in Paris.

They were also awarded the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Prize, which sponsored their New York debut at Carnegie/Zankel Hall, the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize, which sponsored their Washington, D.C. debut at the Kennedy Center, the Gulbenkian Foundation Concert Prize for a concert in Paris, the Vancouver Recital Society Prize, the Princeton University Concerts Prize, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Prize, and the Sander Buchman Memorial Prize. The quartet has also performed at renowned festivals and concert venues in Europe.

They have collaborated with many well-known artists, such as pianists Jean-Francois Heisser and Vanessa Wagner, cellists Gary Hoffman and Roland Pidoux, and clarinet players Michel Portal and Karl-Heinz Steffens. In 2006 the NASCOR label released their first CD, which includes works by Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Mendelssohn.

Concert listing

May 9: Classical opera excerpts and string quartet

May 25: Saxophone trio and suona

Oct. 17: Piano recital by Mattia Ometto

Oct. 18: Le Donne Virtuose string quartet

Nov. 20: Piano recital by Dana Ciocarlie

Dec. 12: Piano recital by Wu Muye

Dec.17: Legend of strings by the Jones Maruri duo

Tickets: 30-160 yuan

Venue: Poly Theater

Hotline: 8637-1698,

8637-1699