“The Five Seasons of Time”
Chen Qigang’s Reflet d’un temps disparu
Li-Wei Qin × Lü Jia
National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing
February 17–18, 2023 · 19:30
Overview
Renowned cellist Li-Wei Qin joins conductor Lü Jia and the NCPA Orchestra to present Chen Qigang’s Cello Concerto Reflet d’un temps disparu (The Five Seasons of Time), one of the most poetic and moving works in the repertoire of contemporary Chinese music.
With its title evoking nostalgia and reflection, the concerto weaves together themes from the ancient guqin melody Meihua Sannong (“Three Variations on the Plum Blossom”) — a musical emblem of purity and perseverance. Chen transforms this traditional theme into a lyrical, human voice through the cello, integrating the pentatonic contours of Chinese melody with Western harmonic language and polytonal color.
The result is a vivid tapestry of time — where East meets West, and the simplicity of ancient beauty dissolves into the complexities of modern life. The concerto’s final pages fade into ethereal cello harmonics and unresolved dissonances, leaving the listener suspended between memory and silence.
“Time once gone can mean childhood, love, career, or life itself… it belongs to everyone, and to the harmony once shared between humanity and nature.”
Chen Qigang
About the Work
Composed in 1995, Reflet d’un temps disparu (“Reflection of a Vanished Time”) has become one of Chen Qigang’s most celebrated works, performed worldwide by leading orchestras and soloists. The concerto reflects Chen’s philosophical view of time — both personal and universal — while bridging Chinese tradition and French impressionist sensibility, a legacy of his years studying under Olivier Messiaen.
The melodic foundation derived from Meihua Sannong serves as a metaphor for inner purity and endurance. The work’s sonorities alternate between serene lyricism and intense orchestral surges, its pentatonic resonance constantly refracted through Western orchestral textures. At its close, faint cello harmonics dissolve into silence — a fleeting memory of beauty forever lost.
Program
Yao Chen — Crossing the Sea, for Orchestra (World Premiere)
Chen Qigang — Reflet d’un temps disparu (The Five Seasons of Time)
Cello: Li-Wei Qin
— Intermission —
Johannes Brahms — Symphony No.2 in D Major, Op.73
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Adagio non troppo
III. Allegretto grazioso
IV. Allegro con spirito
Conductor: Lü Jia
Cello: Li-Wei Qin
Orchestra: NCPA Orchestra
Artists
Li-Wei Qin — Cello
Hailed by The New York Times for his “ravishingly beautiful tone, flawless intonation, and ironclad technique,” Qin is one of the world’s foremost cellists. 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
Currently Music Director and Chief Conductor of the NCPA Orchestra, Lü Jia is one of the most influential Chinese conductors of his generation. Educated in Berlin, he has served as Music Director of the Macerata Opera Festival, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, and Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi Trieste. His artistry combines Germanic precision with lyrical depth, and he has led renowned ensembles such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony, and Orchestre de Paris.
NCPA Orchestra — National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
Established in 2010, the NCPA Orchestra has rapidly become one of China’s most dynamic symphonic ensembles. Known for its versatility and commitment to both classical and contemporary repertoire, the orchestra regularly collaborates with international conductors and soloists, performing in Beijing’s landmark National Centre for the Performing Arts and across the world.