Debra Li debra_lidan@163.com WHILE local music fans were thrilled to embrace two concerts by the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic (BPO) on Nov.16, the orchestra is also eager to explore the Chinese market and expand their fanbase in the emerging economy. “We have just opened our Weibo and WeChat accounts for the tour on the Chinese mainland,” said BPO manager Andrea Zietzschmann, who hopes more Chinese people will interact with the European symphony orchestra. The BPO, on its nine-concert Asian tour, stopped in Bangkok, Taipei, and Kaohsiung before Shenzhen, Xi’an and Beijing. “The Chinese audiences are very interested and good listeners, and it’s important to interact with the audience while we’re performing on the stage,” said BPO clarinetist Alexander Bader, also a board member of the orchestra. Zietzschmann said she was pleased that Shenzhen booked two concerts with the orchestra, which, in her opinion, will help BPO form a better bond with local fans. She also endorsed the arrangement for Friday’s concert to be aired live at the opening of the Lianhua Hill Glades Music Festival. “It’s great that you offer a public viewing for several thousand people,” she said, pointing out the amazing fact that a large portion of the audience would be young people. “The audiences of classical music in Europe are rather old, perhaps between 70 and 80 years old. So far the big challenge is to develop new audiences and do more educational work,” she said. For that purpose, the BPO has created a huge digital program to connect with different demographic groups. In 2002, the orchestra launched the digital concert hall program sponsored by Deutsche Bank. “It is one of our new inventions 16 years ago, the idea came from one of the musicians,” the manager said. “We started from zero and it’s the first of its kind to provide live streaming services from a symphony orchestra. We couldn’t have done it without sponsors.” The digital concert hall, which charges a 149-euro annual fee for a full subscription, today has 1 million registered users, of whom 30,000 pay the full subscription fee. “There are also monthly tickets people can try. It’s accessible here in China, and we hope there will be more users from China. It’s still something we want to develop and grow,” she said. Apart from live streaming, the website provides a complete free archive for music lovers. Interviews with conductors and soloists done by an orchestra member, as well as trailers for every concert performed by the orchestra since the program was first launched, are offered free to fans. While reaching out to fans, the BPO is also trying to expand its repertoire and stay at the top of the game. “Under the guidance of Sir Simon Rattle, our last chief conductor for 16 years, we have gained more repertoire from early baroque as well as other new works and incorporated them into our core repertoire,” said Bader. Bader also revealed that a secret recipe to BPO’s distinctive sound comes from chamber music. “The way we try to play in the orchestra is like what musicians do with chamber music. We listen to each other and react to each other, which allows a lot of flexibility, quality and intensity in the way of playing.” Zietzschmann underlined the importance of the music director for an orchestra. “While currently we have an interim season without a music director, it’s good to have Dudamel with us on the tour, with whom we have worked for 10 years. We’re entering a new phase with Kirill Petrenko as new chief starting in the ’19-’20 season. The orchestra always selects people who can manage to develop an artistic vision to get us even better,” she said. | 