Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell to make Chinese concerto debut in Singapore

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell will play the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra on Aug 30.

This marks the American fiddler's debut on the Chinese concerto, which is considered a classic of the Chinese musical repertoire and based on a classic tale of star-crossed love. The concerto was written in 1959 by composers He Zhanhao and Chen Gang.

Bell made his debut with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in 2016 but then played his usual Western repertoire from Vivaldi, Saint-Saens and Sarasate.

The concert is one of the highlights of the orchestra's new season, announced to the media on Friday (June 1) by music director Yeh Tsung and the orchestra's executive director Terence Ho. Other notables this season include erhu virtuoso Duan Ai Ai and a mega production by renowned Chinese woman composer Wang Dan Hong.

 This article was originally published in The Straits Times.

 Photo: Joshua Bell