“Reflet d’un temps disparu” China Tour
Li-Wei Qin × Lü Jia & NCPA Orchestra
Nanjing · Wuhan · Guangzhou — March 2023
Overview
Following their acclaimed performances at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing earlier this year, cellist Li-Wei Qin and conductor Lü Jia reunite with the NCPA Orchestra for a national tour of Reflet d’un temps disparu (The Five Seasons of Time), the celebrated cello concerto by Chen Qigang.
Presented under the poetic title “As Time Flows By”, this program journeys through memory and reflection — bridging East and West, past and present. From Yao Chen’s newly commissioned Crossing the Sea to Brahms’s radiant Symphony No. 2, each concert embodies both cultural dialogue and emotional resonance.
About the Works
Chen Qigang — Reflet d’un temps disparu
Commissioned by Radio France in 1995, this concerto was first performed in 1998 by Yo-Yo Ma under Charles Dutoit in Paris. The work is built upon the ancient guqin melody Meihua Sannong (“Three Variations on the Plum Blossom”), whose pentatonic simplicity is reimagined through Western harmony and orchestration.
Chen’s writing merges Chinese lyricism with French impressionist color, shaping a sound world where fading memories and modern dissonance intertwine. The final harmonics dissolve into silence — a lingering meditation on transience and beauty.
Yao Chen — Crossing the Sea
Commissioned by the NCPA, this orchestral work draws inspiration from Chinese artist Han Meilin’s monumental series The Book of Heaven (Tianshu). The score imagines ancient symbols, characters, and spirits traveling across time and space, carried by the symphony orchestra as a vessel of cultural continuity and human resilience.
Tour Schedule & Programs
March 16, 2023 · 19:30
Jiangsu Grand Theatre, Nanjing
Yao Chen
Crossing the Sea, for Orchestra
(World Premiere)
Chen Qigang
Reflet d’un temps disparu
(The Five Seasons of Time)
— Intermission —
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
March 19, 2023 · 19:30
Qintai Concert Hall, Wuhan
Richard Wagner
Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Chen Qigang
Reflet d’un temps disparu
— Intermission —
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
March 21, 2023 · 19:30
Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou
Yao Chen
Crossing the Sea, for Orchestra
(World Premiere)
Chen Qigang
Reflet d’un temps disparu
— Intermission —
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Artists
Li-Wei Qin — Cello
Praised by The New York Times for his “ravishingly beautiful tone, flawless intonation, and ironclad technique,” Qin is a laureate of the Tchaikovsky and Naumburg competitions. He has performed with the London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, and Singapore Symphony, recording for Decca and Sony Classical.
Lü Jia — Conductor
A conductor of international acclaim, Lü Jia is the Music Director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the NCPA Orchestra.
Born in Shanghai, he studied at the Central Conservatory of Music and later at the Universität der Künste Berlin, before winning first prize at the Antonio Pedrotti International Conducting Competition in Italy at age 24.
He has conducted over two thousand performances worldwide, leading such ensembles as the Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian State Opera, Munich Philharmonic, and Santa Cecilia Orchestra. In 2007, his production of Rossini’s La gazza ladra at the Rossini Opera Festival won the European Opera Award for Best Production.
NCPA Orchestra — National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
Founded in 2010, the NCPA Orchestra has become one of China’s foremost symphonic ensembles, renowned for its precision, versatility, and artistic breadth. Performing over 100 concerts annually across opera, symphonic, and chamber platforms, the orchestra collaborates with leading artists worldwide.
Its recordings for Sony Classical include The Ring Without Words (conducted by Lorin Maazel), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Egmont, among others. Under Lü Jia’s direction, the orchestra continues to represent a new standard of excellence in Chinese symphonic music.