The New Year's concert of National Centre for the Performing Arts was initially presented by China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) in 2008, and conducted by Seiji Ozawa, the prestigious Japanese conductor, collaborating with outstanding maestros including soprano Kathleen Battle, violinist Vadim Repin, pianist Lang Lang, Erhu soloist Jiang Jianhua, cellist Zhao Jing, and organist Shen Fanxiu.

At the beginning of 2009, the violinist Joshua Bell will show up in the performance. At the age of fourteen, Bell appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He has since performed with almost all of the world's major orchestras and conductors. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize on April 10, 2007 at Lincoln Center in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement.

Moreover, solo trumpeter Gabor Tarkovi will make his debut with the splendid organ in Concert Hall of the Centre. Chinese pianist Yundi Li, the "Piano Prince", is to join this evening with his debut of Tchaikovsky Concerto Pour Piano No.1. The Centre has also commissioned a new piece of music from Chinese composer Chen Yi dedicating to the splendid evening.


Daniel Harding
Born in Oxford, Daniel Harding began his career assisting Sir Simon Rattle at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He is the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He made his professional debut in 1994. He went on to assist Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic and made his debut with the orchestra at the 1996 Berlin Festival. 

He is a regular visitor to the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic (both of which he has conducted at the Salzburg Festival), the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala.  Other guest conducting engagements have included the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Oslo Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Orchestras, among others.

In 2005 he opened the season at La Scala, Milan, conducting a new production of 'Idomeneo'.  He returned in 2007 for 'Salome' and in 2008 for a double bill of 'Bluebeard's Castle' and 'Il Prigionero'.  His operatic experience also includes 'The Turn of the Screw' and 'Wozzeck' at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and 'Don Giovanni' and 'Le nozze di Figaro' at the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic. Closely associated with the Aix-en-Provence Festival, he has conducted new productions there of 'Così fan tutte' directed by Patrice Chereau, 'Don Giovanni' directed by Peter Brook, etc.

Daniel Harding records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon and his first disc for the yellow label, a recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 10 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, has recently been released to critical acclaim. Previously a Virgin/EMI artist, his recordings for that label include Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; 'Billy Budd' with the London Symphony Orchestra; 'Don Giovanni' and 'The Turn of the Screw'; works by Britten with Ian Bostridge and the Britten Sinfonia.

Violinist: Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell has captured the public's attention like no other classical violinist of his time. For over two decades, Joshua Bell has enchanted audiences worldwide with his breathtaking playing and tone of rare opulence. He came to national attention at the age of 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University. His alma mater also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award only two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Today he is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader. His restless curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting new directions that have earned him the rare title of "classical music superstar". Bell enjoys chamber music collaborations with artists such as Pamela Frank, Steven Isserlis and Edgar Meyer. He also enjoys occasional collaborations with artists outside the classical arena.

An exclusive Sony Classical artist known for his breadth and daring choices of repertoire, Bell has created a richly varied catalogue of recordings. Recent releases include The Red Violin Concerto by John Corigliano, The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, The Essential Joshua Bell, Voice of the Violin and Romance of the Violin which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Bell the Classical Artist of the Year.

Pianist: Yundi Li
Yundi Li is the first Chinese pianist to win the first prize in the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, and the youngest winner in the history of the event. He is the first Chinese pianist to sign contract with the top CD brand Deutsche Grammophon, having released 7 CDs and 1 DVD globally to date. Li is the first Chinese pianist to record with the Berlin Philharmonic and the master conductor Seiji Ozawa, and the record was named among the top 10 classical CD of the year by the New York Times. His legendary life story is filmed by an internationally renowned producer into a feature-length documentary The Young Romantic: Yundi Li, the first documentary film about a Chinese pianist. The film will be aired worldwide through such major TV channels as CCTV, NHK and PBS. He is the first Chinese pianist to appear on the Wall Street Journal and the Japanese magazine AERA. He is the first Chinese pianist celebrity chosen by the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The Star’s review on Yundi Li: “This man is also a player with personality, much like superstars of yore like Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein." Anthony Tommasini, chief music critic of the New York Times, noted that: "Yundi Li ... has proved a technically astounding pianist who is by turns elegant and rambunctious, coolly expressive and white-hot." 


Trumpeter: Gabor Tarkovi
He was born in Esztergom, Hungary.
Having musicians in his family for a century, he had his first trumpet lesson from his father, István Tarkövi.
He began studying music at the Győr Music School. He continued his studies at the Franz Liszt Music Secondary School, and graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. György Geiger, Hans Gansch and György Kurtág were his most influential teachers.
Prior to his appointment as solo trumpeter for the Berlin Symphony Orchestra then the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, he was the co-principal trumpeter for the Württenberg Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2004 he has been the principal trumpeter in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Besides his orchestral activities, he is a member of the ensembles "Pro Brass" and "Austrian Brass Connection".
Mr. Tarkövi has been engaged as a soloist for the Berliner Philharmonics, the Munich Bach Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of the Bayerischen Rundfunks.
As a teacher, he frequently gives master classes in Europe, Asia and overseas. Since 2004, he has been a teacher of the Herbert von Karajan Orchestra Academy.


Commissioned composer: Chen Yi
Chen Yi has served as the Distinguished Professor in Music Composition at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance since 1998, making her the first Chinese composer to win such a title in recent years. In 2001, she received the prestigious Charles Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005. Besides activities on international modern music stages, lecturing in American universities and holding concerts, Chen Yi is also appointed as visiting professor for a number of Chinese conservatories of music. Some of Chen Yi's prizewinning works include: Piano solo Duo Ye that won the first prize of national musical works, Momentum for orchestra commissioned by Peabody Conservatory, and Cello concerto Ballad, Dance and Fantasy for Yo-Yo Ma commissioned by Pacific Symphony Orchestra. She is also in cooperation with many important symphony orchestras at home and abroad. Some of her new works for orchestra in recent years have premiered in Carnegie Hall, The Proms and Lucerne Festival.



Programs
Orchestral work
Berlioz   Overture Le Corsaire ，Op. 21  (8 mins)

Hummel   Trumpet Concerto in E Flat major  (4 mins)
   2nd movement: Lento  
   3rd movement: Allegro
Trumpeter: Gabor Tarkovi

Chen Yi    Prospect Overture  (12 mins)

Ravel  Tzigane  (10 mins)
Violinist: Joshua Bell

-- Intermission -- 

Tchaikovsky  Piano Concerto No.1 in b flat minor, Op.23
  2nd movement: Andantino semplice-Prestissimo-Tempo  (6 mins)
  3rd movement: Finale,Allegro con fuoco  (7 mins)
Pianist: Yundi Li

Orchestral work
Rimsky Korsakov   Capriccio Espagnol  (15 mins)

Please hold your applause between movements.