On May 28, the Guangzhou Jazz Festival 2025 kicked off with the return of Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti and his all-star band to Xinghai Concert Hall!

The first round of concerts for the Guangzhou Jazz Festival 2025 will also include performances by the greatest living jazz vocalist, Dianne Reeves (November 11), the British musical prodigy Jacob Collier (November 13), and the cross-cultural collaboration of Silk Jazz Trio (September 12)!

Before the concert began, musicians led by Chris Botti, along with guests from various sectors, gathered to witness the exciting launch of the "Music in Summer 2025" at Xinghai Concert Hall. Here are some highlights:

The "Music in Summer 2025" series will feature a diverse range of 21 performances and events in just two weeks, including symphonies, jazz, chamber music, pipe organ playing, family-friendly plays, and cross-genre live performances.

The inaugural "Chamber Music Week 2025" at Xinghai Concert Hall will also be held in July, bringing in famous musicians such as Emmanuel Pahud, the principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmoniker, the Shanghai Quartet, Chen Leiji, and Han Xiaoguang.

Starting in June, the "Annual Highlights" will showcase performances by violin superstar Joshua Bell, as well as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the top ten symphony orchestras in the world.

In the second half of the year, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the oldest orchestra in the world, will present a grand finale concert conducted by the great Daniele Gatti.

Additionally, the Borodin Quartet, renowned in the music world for 80 years, will perform all of Shostakovich's String Quartets. These 15 works will be fully presented across five concerts during a week-long "quartet marathon," a rare "national exclusive" live performance.

From May 30 to June 2, the "Forever Beethoven" series will feature three concerts of Beethoven's complete piano concertos over four days. As 2025 marks the 255th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Xinghai Concert Hall, will honor this classical music giant with this concert event.

The Pipe Organ Music Season 2025, under the theme of "Master Feature," will launch in July with a performance by Jörg Halubek, a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, to celebrate the 340th anniversary of Bach's birth with the Goldberg Variations. In August, Olivier Latry, the master pipe organist at Notre Dame de Paris, known as the "global ambassador of the pipe organ," will perform as the grand finale.

In July, the Guangdong National Orchestra and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra will also hold their closing concerts of the 2024/2025 music season with two major performances: Lingnan Variations 2.0 on July 12 and A Night of Carmen on July 19. The series of exquisite traditional Chinese music, An Elegant Collection of Guzheng, will feature two guzheng concerts in July and October, one in the south and the other in the north.

During the Children's Day to summer vacation period, family-friendly works, including Dragon Please, Family-friendly Theatre for Music Enlightenment: The Magical Journey of Little Dandelion, and Family-friendly Theatre for Music and Dance: The Nutcracker, will offer immersive musical and dance experiences for both parents and children. These performances aim to inspire artistic interest through laughter and interaction, creating a warm and joyful family atmosphere.

Photo & video | Xinghai Concert Hall