2022 marks the 65th anniversary of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. From September 10th to 17th this year, the orchestra will be led by music director Yu Long, together with viola player Mei Diyang (September 10th) and erhu player Lu Yiwen (September 14th to 17th), in Guangzhou , Wuhan, Changsha, and Chengdu, four famous historical and cultural cities held the "Beauty of COLMO, Friends of the World - Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra's 65th Anniversary Tour". At that time, four touring concerts will be held in Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, Changsha Concert Hall and Chengdu City Concert Hall.

At the same time, in the new music season of Canton Jiao, it will usher in the 20th anniversary of Yu Long as the music director of Canton Jiao. Yu Long is the chairman of the China Music Association Symphony Orchestra Alliance and an outstanding Chinese conductor active in the international music scene. He led the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra to become one of the best symphony orchestras in China, promoted the professional construction and development of the orchestra, and successively planned the Guangdong International Music Summer Camp, Guangdong Asian Music Festival, Guangdong International Youth Music Week and other Guangdong cultural brand activities.

In this tour, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra will perform Zhou Tian's orchestral "Metropolis" and Chen Qigang's Erhu Concerto "Sorrows and Joys Together", two new works specially composed for the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Canton Fair, as well as British composer Edward Elgar's most famous "Riddle Variations".

Among them, "Metropolis" and the Erhu Concerto "Sorrows and Joys" will have their world premieres at the "Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra's 65th Anniversary and 2022/2023 Music Season Opening Concert" held on the eve of this tour. Two new works that tell Chinese stories and convey the voice of Guangdong are the main repertoires of the tour, and also select Western symphony masterpieces to correspond to them, which reflects the orchestra's initiative in promoting the creation and rehearsal of Chinese symphony works, and is also an artistic vision and cultural confidence. reflect.

Zhou Tian, a Chinese-American composer who composed "Metropolis" and was nominated for the "Best Contemporary Classical Music Composition Award" at the 60th Grammy Awards, said that "Metropolis" strives to use the symphonic language of the five-tone complex to present a millennium Urban tonality. In his opinion, a work can show the cultural attributes of a symphony orchestra, while an orchestra represents the cultural temperament of a city. He has cooperated with Guangzhou Jiao many times before, making him feel that this is an efficient, professional and first-class band with its own unique sound field.

One of the highlights of the concert is the Erhu Concerto "Joy of Joy and Sadness" composed by Chen Qigang, a famous composer and music director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The violin version of this work was jointly commissioned by Beijing International Music Festival, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra of Australia, National Symphony Orchestra of Toulouse, France, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition on October 29, 2017 at The world premiere of the 20th Beijing International Music Festival, conducted by Yu Long, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Russian-Israeli violinist Vengerov as the solo performance.

In early 2022, Yu Long, on behalf of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, commissioned Chen Qigang for the erhu version of this work. Young erhu performer Lu Yiwen, winner of the China Music Golden Bell Award and Wenhua Award, will perform the erhu version of "Sorrow and Happiness" in this tour.