China National Symphony Orchestra

Founding and first concert Li Delun conducted the first concert in Beijing in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart after the founding of CPOC. On October 1, 1959, the concert of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was performed by the orchestra in Beijing, and all the musicians were Chinese. In 1996, the Central Philharmonic was restructured and renamed the CNSO. At that time, the CNSO not only played much western classical music such as Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, but it also introduced many works such as Yellow River Cantata by Chinese composers. == Executive head ==

Currently, Xia Guan, a famous composer, is the executive head of the CNSO. He was born in Henan Province. He graduated from the Department of Composition of the China Central Conservatory of Music and played the violin and erhu. Before being the director of the CNSO, he was the director of the Opera Company at the China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre. Also, he was vice director of the China Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble. He has composed a number of songs which leave a deep impression on the audience. His operatic symphony Mulan Psalm was first performed in Beijing in 2004 and at the Lincoln Center in New York in 2005. "One year later it was the first Chinese opera to be conducted by a foreign conductor, Michael Helmrath, to be played by a foreign orchestra- the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra and to be sung by foreign artists in Chinese”. Guan's main compositions include: Fantasies Symphoniques: Farewell My Concubine (2005), the Chinese opera Sorrowful Morning, and Mulan Psalm. == Principal conductors ==

The current conductors of CNSO include the French conductor Michel Plasson who was nominated as the Principal Conductor of the CNSO in March 2010. Tang Muhai is the laureate conductor. Xincao Li is the principal resident conductor, Shao En is the principal guest conductor, Xieyang Chen is the guest conductor, and Yunzhi Liu is the concertmaster. The famous conductor Muhai Tang took over the artistic director but left the position one year later without formal resignation due to the conflicts with the executive Songlin Yu. There was no principal conductor or artistic director in CNSO until En Shao took the position in 2006. Shao was in the position for one season only and served as guest conductor afterwards. Finally in 2010, CNSO the 4th principal conductor Michel Plass started to lead CNSO, but he has not been with the title artistic director. == Diplomatic occasions (2011) ==

• In April 2011, the CNSO performed for Hu Jintao, Russian President Medvedev, and other leaders who attended the third BRICS summit. • In April 2011, the CNSO performed for the leaders who were at Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2011. • On August 18, 2011, the CNSO performed for the US Vice President Joe Biden, the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, and other government officials in the Great Hall of the People. • On August 26, 2011, the CNSO performed for the ambassadors from different countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ==See also==