NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) will stage a Lunar New Year Concert and Gala on Feb. 6 in the city's Lincoln Center, featuring the U.S. debut of Chinese composer Tan Dun's violin concerto "Fire Ritual," according to a press release on Thursday.
Under the theme of "Fire," which represents the warmth, vigor and prosperity in Asian culture, the concert and gala is the eighth of its kind presented by NYPO to celebrate the most important traditional festival of China, which is also shared by some other Asian countries.
Oscar winner Tan Dun's renowned violin concerto "Fire Ritual," which is deeply influenced by the worship music and court music in ancient China, will be the highlight of the night in its debut in the United States. In order to better convey the artistic conception as a dialogue between human beings and the Nature, the orchestra will be divided into two groups sitting on the stage and in the auditorium respectively.
The event will see the NYPO's first-time collaboration with Kahchun Wong, a talented Singaporean conductor who became the first Asian to win the prestigious international Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition for young conductors held in Bamberg, Germany in 2016.
A string of brilliant new names in classical music will also be on stage, including violinist Bomsori Kim and soprano So Young Park, both from South Korea.
The iconic "Spring Festival Overture," a household piece in China that can be heard everywhere in the country during the celebration of the festival, will also be played to create a genuine sense of festivity.
The NYPO has been one of the leading American orchestras since its founding in 1842. It performs at David Geffen Hall of Lincoln Center.
The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival of 2019 will fall on Feb. 5.
