Beijing (September 26, 2019) – UBS will present a special concert featuring performances by French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Chinese conductor Huang Yi and the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) at the 2019 Beijing Music Festival (BMF) on 14 October, celebrating a 16-year partnership between UBS and BMF. This year’s concert will take place in a new and historic location; Shouhuang Gate at Jingshan Park in central Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City. The 2019 festival will also feature the world premiere of Hollywood film composer Aaron Zigman’s new tango-based concerto for piano and orchestra, commissioned specially for BMF 2019. 

“Our long-standing partnership with BMF is incredibly important to UBS. It allows us to promote classical music in China and provides unique opportunities for our clients and staff to experience performances by renowned musicians,” said Dr. Eugene Qian, President of UBS Securities in China. 

“We are honored to receive the continued support of UBS. Our collaboration enables the festival to host an extraordinary line up of national and international musicians, who will perform great works by distinguished composers,” said Yu Long, Chairman of the Artistic Committee of the Beijing Music Festival.

Under the theme 'Tango – A concert of BMF Commissions', the 2019 concert will begin with Last Sacrifice, written by the Chinese American composer Zhou Long for the 2013 festival and performed this year by the CPO under conductor Huang Yi. The world premiere of Aaron Zigman’s Tango Manos Concerto for Piano and Orchestra will follow, performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet with Huang Yi and the CPO. The festival will conclude with the Chinese operatic masterpiece, Song of Farewell, composed by Xiaogang Ye for BMF in 2010 and presented as a condensed symphonic piece this year by Huang Yi and the CPO.

“This will be my third performance at the Beijing Music Festival and every time is more exciting. This year’s venue provides an iconic backdrop to the music, and I am particularly delighted to debut my close friend Aaron Zigman’s new work,” said pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. 

“The Beijing Music Festival is an important moment for classical music in China and I am honored to participate for the second time. The festival offers a global platform to showcase the talented China Philharmonic Orchestra and provides an opportunity to collaborate with leading international musicians like Jean-Yves Thibaudet,” said Huang Yi, principal conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra

“I am thrilled to debut my new work at the Beijing Music Festival. I composed the work specifically with my friend Jean-Yves Thibaudet in mind, and I am so happy to see it performed in person for the first time,” said composer Aaron Zigman.

Upholding a long-standing commitment to community engagement, UBS regularly hosts events for its employees and Community Affairs partners. This year, UBS will host a ‘Lunch and Learn’ event for staff and performing artists and will invite students from Shunyi District Thirteenth Middle School to attend music activities.

Notes to Editors

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. UBS's strategy is centered on our leading global wealth management business and our premier universal bank in Switzerland, enhanced by Asset Management and the Investment Bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 markets, with about 31% of its employees working in the Americas, 32% in Switzerland, 19% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 18% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 67,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). 

About UBS and Culture

UBS has been committed to supporting culture for many decades. UBS's partnership with the Beijing Music Festival underlines a long-standing commitment to supporting cultural and financial development in the region.  Globally, UBS is also strongly engaged in contemporary art. At the core of this commitment is the UBS Art Collection, one of the world's most distinguished corporate art collections, comprising of over 30,000 artworks created by artists from more than 70 countries. Between 2014 and 2016, UBS (China) Limited opened a new Beijing sub-branch and the firm’s first ground floor presence in Asia Pacific, followed by the opening of its Shanghai Branch in Huangpu district. Major contemporary art pieces from the UBS Art Collection are displayed on the premises by internationally acclaimed artists including: Chen Wei, Michael Craig-Martin, Ding Yi, Günther Förg, Anish Kapoor and Sarah Morris. Discover more at ubs.com/art

About Jean-Yves Thibaudet

For more than three decades, French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet has performed world-wide, recorded more than 50 albums, and built a reputation as one of today's finest pianists. From the very start of his career, he delighted in music beyond the standard repertoire, from jazz to opera, which he transcribed himself to play on the piano. His profound professional friendships criss-cross the globe and have led to spontaneous and fruitful collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art. Thibaudet's recording catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards. He was the soloist on the Oscar-winning and critically acclaimed film Atonement, as well as Pride and Prejudice, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and Wakefield. His concert wardrobe is designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood. In 2010, the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. This will be Thibaudet’s third time participating in the Beijing Music Festival.

About Huang Yi

Huang Yi (b.1988, Beijing) is a young Chinese conductor and participates in Beijing Music Festival for the second time this year. He is currently the principal conductor of China Philharmonic Orchestra and the first artistic director of Kunming Nie’er Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012 for the Beijing Music Festival’s new production of the Chinese opera The Savage Land. He also participated in the Beijing Music Festival in 2012, when he was the assistant conductor of Wagner’s Parsifal, co-produced by BMF and the Salzburg Osterfestspiele. 

About the China Philharmonic Orchestra

Founded in 2000, the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is one of China’s leading orchestra. Since its inception, the CPO has achieved considerable acclaim, winning attention at home and abroad during its eighteen seasons. It has set an example for the infinite potential of Chinese artistic development, cultural rejuvenation and economic boom, as witnessed by the rest of the world. To date, the CPO has presented nearly 3,000 pieces in more than 1,000 performances, attracting millions of audiences. Performances have consisted of concerts, operas, cantatas, incidental music, ballets, chamber music, musicals, music for TV and film and multi-media presentations, often incorporating the use of Chinese national instruments. In 2007, the CPO presented an acclaimed “East Meets West” concert during the 10th Beijing Music Festival, featuring a double bill world premiere of Tan Dun’s Four Secret Roads of Marco Polo and Penderecki’s Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Verganglichkeit. In 2010, China Philharmonic gave a world premiere performance of Peter Ruzicka’s Hölderlin Symphony during the 13th Beijing Music Festival. In 2013, CPO performed in a co-production of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, produced by Beijing Music Festival and Salzburger Osterfestspiele to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opera master’s birth.

About Aaron Zigman

Aaron Zigman is a film composer and has scored up to 60 major Hollywood movies. Zigman trained as a classical pianist and conductor. His deep classical roots, combined with his background in writing and producing music for great performers like Aretha Franklin, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins and more, has given him the ability to traverse all styles of music and develop some of the industry’s most memorable film scores,.

For enquiries about UBS and the Beijing Music Festival

Carol Lo

Email: carol@suttonpr.com

T: +852 2528 0792

M: +852 9682 5273

For enquiries about UBS

Joanna Sin

Email: joanna.sin@ubs.com

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