Xu Zhong Aims for World Record by Performing Beethoven’s symphony Cycle in 9 Hours

By Rudolph Tang

Xu Zhong, Artistic Director of the Shanghai Opera House and Chief Conductor of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra of China, will conduct the symphony cycle of Beethoven in Shanghai and finish it in nine hours on October 8th, an effort critics believe might potentially set a world record.

The previous world record, as listed by the Guinness World Records Russia, was set by the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. According to the entry, Sergey Stadler conducted the orchestra and performed the symphony cycle by Beethoven in eight hours and three minutes on November 26, 2017 on the stage of the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella.

The open-air concert, a line-up of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF), had been originally scheduled for two days running from October 6 to 7 at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre with tickets distributed free of charge, though Xu Zhong admitted that it has long been his ambition to finish the cycle in one day. Just less than two hours before the concert was supposed to start, CSIAF announced that the concert had to be rescheduled to 8th due to bad weather. Xu’s wish is granted.

The nine symphonies will be performed back to back in a chronological order from 13:00 to 22:00 on 8th, including a two-hour intermission from 16:30 to 18:30. Xu Zhong will conduct the CSIAF Orchestra consisting of members from the Shanghai Opera House and Suzhou Symphony Orchestra. Under the same umbrella of CSIAF Orchestra, musicians of the Shanghai Opera House will perform symphony Nos 1, 2, 6, 7, while musicians of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra will perform symphony Nos. 3, 4, 5, 8. Both forces, numbered over a hundred, will take to the stage in the Ninth. In the fourth movement Ode to Joy, they are joined by the Shanghai Opera House’s Chorus and its four soloists: tenor Yu Haolei, soprano Song Qian, baritone Dou Qianming and mezzo Wang Xiaoxi.

According to Xu, rehearsal of the cycle began earnestly in mid September by both orchestras. Each symphony has undergone at least six sessions of rehearsal as he always puts artistic value over sportive fun. In this cycle he intends to stick to the orchestra size of Beethoven’s time when conducting Nos. 1-8, and apply the actual tempo according to the metronome markings by the composer himself in 1817.

No stranger to Beethoven’s symphonies, Xu has conducted all the nine symphonies multiple times, working with Chinese and European orchestras in the past. “I’m very happy to have conducted the Ninth in Haifa, Catania, Syracusa, Verona, Dieuze when I was involved with the artistic leadership of Teatro Massimo Bellini, Arena di Verona and Haifa Symphony Orchestra. Being a kapellmeister means I get used to working for long hours without a gap. This is like a dream coming true.”

He opts for the critical edition published by Bärenreiter.

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