The Central Philharmonic- the China national orchestra was founded in July 3rd 1956. The 1st concert in commemoration of 200th anniversary of the birth of Mozart was held in Beijing after the founding of the orchestra. In 1996, the Central Philharmonic was restructured and renamed as the China National Symphony Orchestra. Regarded as Chinese orchestras’ flagship, it represents the China’s symphony artistry and had gone through 55 years’ history.
In this period, famous Chinese conductor Delun Li, Zhongjie Han had helped lay a strong foundation for the improvement of the artistic level. Throughout its history, the CNSO has collaborated with many world famous artists in order to bring excellence to its audiences. CNSO audiences have been thrilled by famous conductors such as E.Ormandy Eugene, Herbert Von Karajan, Seiji Ozawa, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur,Rozhdestvensky, Krzysztof Penderecki, Osmo Antero Vänskä, Daniel Harding, David Zinman, Zuohuang Chen, Muhai Tang, En Shao and so on; Other well-known guest artists have included instrumentalists David Feodorovich Oistrakh, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Yoyo Ma, Lang Lang, Yundi Li, Jian Wang, Yujia Wang, Albrecht Mayer and among the others.
The premiere of Beethoven Symphony No.9 by the Central Philharmonic was held in Beijing on Oct. 1st 1959 and all the musicians were Chinese. The orchestra has not only played large amount of western classical music by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Dmitri Shostakovich, Penderecki and among the others, and also introduce a lot of works by contemporary Chinese composers such as Yellow River Cantata by Xinghai Xian and Yellow River Piano Concerto. The orchestra has also played operas by Beethoven, Wagner, Puccini and Richard Strauss.
The CNSO has toured throughout many countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, giving successful performances to critical acclaim by the international press. In 2006, CNSO brought Xia Guan’s new work Fantasies Symphoniques Farewell My Concubine and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov to the United States during the concert tour in 8 cities, which strongly impressed the audiences. The concerts were held in major concert halls where world-class symphony orchestras often perform, including Avery Fisher Concert Hall, Lincoln Center of New York, Chicago Symphony Hall, and others. In London, a music critic for The Times praised the CNSO as “ a mature group with a vital sound.” The New York Times, the Washington Post quotes as , “The China National Symphony Orchestra is a solid, energetic and meticulously drilled ensemble.”, “the excellent performance by the orchestra won the audiences, they were given prolonged applauses.” Korean media said CNSO is the best orchestra in Asia and “the pride of 1.3 billion people.” In June 2010, CNSO participated in World Festival of World Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, the concert was conducted by Principal Conductor Michel Plasson with program Saint-Saens Symphony No.3 and Earth Requiem by Xia Guan, the festival organizing committee praises the orchestra as “beautiful sound from the east”.
The superb performances of CNSO chamber orchestra have deserved great praises in many important diplomatic occasions. At the 3rd BRICs Leaders Meeting in April 2011, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Medvedev and a number of state leaders attended the concert by the ensemble with great interests. At Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2011, many state leaders and officials rewarded them with prolonged applause for the splendid performances. On August 18th 2011, in the Great Hall of the People, the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, US Vice President Joe Biden and the delegation attended the CNSO chamber concert and sang high praises of it. On August 26th 2011, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassadors from different countries were moved by a performance full of passion, lyricism, and warmth by the chamber orchestra.
Leading the CNSO into the future are Director Guan Xia (Composer), Laureate Conductor Muhai Tang, Principal Resident Conductor Li Xincao, Principal Guest Conductor En Shao, Guest Conductor Chen Xieyang, and Concertmaster Yunzhi Liu. In March 2010, world famous conductor Michel Plasson was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra, which introduces French style delicacy, elegance of music and richness in color into the orchestra.