President Macron ties French orchestra to China Philharmonic

President Macron ties French orchestra to China Philharmonic

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norman lebrecht

November 08, 2019

The French president, visiting Shanghai, has set up a partnership between the China Philharmonic, conductor Long Yu, and the state-controlled Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conductor Mikko Franck.

There will be exchanges of musicians, co-commissions and a joint concert in the Forbidden City.

All a bit reminscent of Henry Kissinger’s cultural diplomacy.

Long Yu has previously partnered with the New York Phil, but maybe that’s on the way out.

 

 

Comments

  • fflambeau says:

    Isn’t that Jaap Van Sweden in the photo on the right?

  • McWrongAgain says:

    I wonder if he believes his Chinese hosts are ‘brain dead’ too?

    Can anyone ever trust Manny McWrong again – after demanding that Macedonia change its name to ‘North Macedonia’ as a condition of being wait-listed for EU membership… and then refusing them, after they’d made the name-change?

  • Michel says:

    The chinese may feel they aren’t that welcomed in the US ! The overall american opinion is now very anti-chinese thanks to Mr Trump.

    • ketzel says:

      Thanks to the behavior of the PRC.

      • Po says:

        The behaviour of PRC shouldn‘t influence how people see Chinese people. Would you judge Jewish people by the behaviour of Isreal state? Get your secret racism (anti-Chinese-ism?) sorted.

        • ketzel says:

          When I read the comment I replied to, I thought “chinese” referred to the state, not the people. As far as I know, having lived in the SF Bay Area for 30 years, Chinese people are doing well in the USA and Trump didn’t change that. Before you accuse someone of racism, consider that both of us may not have understood what “chinese” meant in the original comment.

        • John Borstlap says:

          Indeed. The Chinese people have never been in the position to choose their government.

        • Patrick Gillot says:

          Nothing in the PRC happened without the authorization of the communist dictator. Therefore Ketzel comment is perfectly justified and has nothing to do with racism.

    • Petros Linardos says:

      It’s safe to assume that the majority of the classical music public fall into the 54% of americans who do not approve of the current president.

      • Nik says:

        Two wrongs don’t make a right.

      • V. Lind says:

        Wouldn’t it be great if that majority voted against him…oh, wait, they did last time, for all the good it did them (or the world).

        Not that they appear to care, as being bright or thinking things through or getting things correct is eastern and elitist, but don’t Americans realise that defending the increasingly erratic antics of the Tweeter-in-Chief makes them look really, really stupid?

      • Stuart says:

        The majority of the classical music public are on the left? How did you reach that unproven conclusion?

    • Stuart says:

      The overall american opinion is now very anti-chinese.

      Hardly. The majority of Americans likely do not have an informed opinion on China.

    • fflambeau says:

      You’re right….for now. But Trump will likely be impeached and/or voted out of office. Things do NOT look good for him. It’s unclear if other economic leaders in the USA see China as worthy of armageddon. Many certainly perceive China as an economic and military threat.

      • Saxon Broken says:

        He is unlikely to be impeached. And lets see about the election. The Democrats have yet to find a candidate who will appeal to anyone beyond their core vote.

  • J says:

    NY Phil’s partnership is with Shanghai Symphony. Yu Long is music director of three orchestras, China Phil, Shanghai Symphony and Guangzhou Symphony

  • Mark Pemberton says:

    I can’t see Boris Johnson doing the same for a British orchestra.

  • Anno says:

    Everyone in NY will be glad to see the project NY phil has with Yu Long end, a tasteless project in artistic term.

  • Patrick Gillot says:

    His name is Yu Long . He is also associated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic hence his picture with Jaap van Zweden.

  • Tom Rakewell says:

    Meanwhile, back at home in France, Manny McWrong and his schoolteacher have become Europe’s new Ceausescus – cowering from their voters in a luxurious palace, defended by Securitate-style police thugs. Was it really 1989 when the world overthrew the Ceausescus? How quickly we forget…

    • John Borstlap says:

      What a load of nonsense. After ‘Le grand débat’, which was an extraordinary plebiscitary exercise, the french government is working like hell to correct many mistakes made during decades of stagnation and get the country on its feet again. And for music lovers it should be known that Macron is presently the only European head of state for whom the support of culture is an important item on his political program.

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