The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has embarked on its China tour, celebrating its centennial with a grand gala concert in Xi’an. The performance marked the grand opening of the spectacular concert hall at Belt and Road Culture and Art Center on November 8. The thrilled audience greeted the Orchestra and conductor Neeme Järvi with standing ovations following the spectacular rendition of Beethoven and Berlioz.

The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has been honored with an opportunity to become the first orchestra in history to have their music fill the hall of this impressive cultural establishment in Xi’an. Under the baton of renowned conductor Neeme Järvi, the orchestra performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. The audience’s enthusiastic applause and cheers were so overwhelming that the Philharmonic Orchestra came back for three encores.

The orchestra from Serbia paid respect to their hosts by performing the well-known Chinese composition My Homeland, which was excitingly received by the exhilarated audience. A similar level of excitement accompanied Stevan Hristic’ Dove (Grlica), which the Philharmonic musicians proudly played in honor of their founder Stevan Hristic, thus marking their centennial jubilee on the international stage. Sibelius’ composition Andante festivo beautifully concluded this special evening in a celebration mode.

Neeme Järvi, the 86-year-old maestro with captivating energy, truly mesmerised the audience and impressed the members of the Philharmonic Orchestra:

Tonight, we danced together! It’s wonderful to see and meet the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra once again. The fantastic atmosphere has followed us ever since the very beginnings of our work, and I am very grateful to the orchestra for that feeling. The Belgrade Philharmonic is a fantastic orchestra made up of wonderful people, very open, who communicate excellently, not with words but with their eyes, movements, everything. I am very excited and I am really looking forward to the continuation of our tour, said Maestro Järvi.

After the concert in Xi’an, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will travel to Weifang, where they will have an additional concert at the Grand Theater, as part of their China tour. They will then perform in Beijing at the renowned National Center for the Performing Arts, before concluding their tour with a concert in Shanghai.