New Philharmonic presents Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 4

Twelfth International Tchaikovsky Competition-winning violinist Yang Liu showcased in New Philharmonic concerts that feature the theme of destiny on April 12-13.

“Where words fail, music speaks,” said Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, presents concerts featuring works tied together with a common theme of destiny at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. The concerts will take place at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn. A free MAC Chat will precede each concert one hour prior to performance.

Under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Kirk Muspratt, New Philharmonic will impress its audience with two masterpieces that might seem very different at first glance, but that are very similar in their theme.

The theme of destiny has always attracted composers and authors of different nationalities from around the world. Two Chinese composers, Chen Gang (born in 1935) and He Zhanhao (born in 1933), collaborated on writing Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto in 1959 while they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This concerto is an orchestral adaptation based on a Chinese legend that tells the story of two lovers, who are separated by destiny but not able to be separated by death as they are transformed into two magnificent butterflies.

“The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto is one of the most well-known classical Chinese concert pieces,” says the Shen Yun Creations website. “During the 20th century, classical works and operas from the West were introduced to the East. The idea of writing for a Western orchestra soon blossomed in China and The Butterfly Lovers, composed by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, is one of the more successful works to have emerged from that era.”

He Zhanhao is a composer, conductor and a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He was a director of the Chinese Musicians’ Association for several terms, and Vice President of the Shanghai Musicians’ Association. He has served as a jurist of the China Gold Record Awards and as Head of the Guzheng Professional Appraisal Committee of the Golden Bell Awards.

Chen Gang has composed and recomposed many classics in China, including the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, Miaolin's Morning and The Golden Steel Smelting Furnace. In 2017, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Chinese Golden Bell for Music.

Written for a western style orchestra, Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto features a solo violin played using some Chinese techniques.

Award-winning violinist Yang Liu will perform the concerto encircled by lit candles. This spectacular performance will underline his highly regarded skills and talent. His playing has been praised as “a scorching performance” by The New York Times and “dazzling talent!” by The Washington Post.

Yang Liu is the prize winner of the Twelfth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, first prize winner of the American Prize in String Performance in 2023, first prize in the 2022 Medici International Competition, first prize in the 2021 International Artists Award Competition, and first prize in China’s 5th National Competition. He has performed as a soloist with world-leading orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Danish Royal Odense Philharmonic to name a few.

He plays a highly prized Guarneri 1741 violin, on loan from the Stradivari Society and the Bein & Fushi Rare Violi.

The second half of the program will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the most prominent Russian composers of all time, wrote his Symphony No. 4 between 1877 and 1878. As the composer explained in letters, this work is ultimately a characterization of fate.

“It has been described as an intensely emotional journey, and at times a battle with destiny, inspired by a tumultuous time in Tchaikovsky’s life and his relationships with two women: his wife and a benefactress he never met in person,” says the press release. The name of that benefactress was Nadezhda von Meck. She was the wealthy widow who sent him a monthly stipend in return for his steady correspondence with her about his music. Symphony No. 4 is considered one of the most beloved symphonies of all time and believed to have been one of Tchaikovsky’s favorites.

“Never yet has any of my orchestral works cost me so much labor, but I’ve never yet felt such love for any of my things.…Perhaps I’m mistaken, but it seems to me that this symphony is better than anything I’ve done so far,” the composer wrote to von Meck.

The New Philharmonic audience will have a chance to appreciate the beauty of these two compositions, Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 4, and experience two different stories about one common theme – destiny.

For tickets, please visit https://atthemac.org/events/tchaikovsky-symphony-no-4-in-f-minor/ or call 630-942-4000. Tickets are $57. $10 youth ticket available. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance. 

Media sponsor for these concerts is 90.9 FM WDCB Public Radio.

Natalia Dagenhart

Photo 1: Yang Liu. Photo Courtesy of the MAC

Photo 2: Yang Liu. Photo by Olivia Tsai

Photo 3: Maestro Kirk Muspratt and New Philharmonic. Photo Courtesy of the MAC