Concert in Harbin sponsored by WFSC celebrating the centenary of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

In November 2024, the “Tribute to Wilhelm Furtwängler” concert held at the Harbin Concert Hall, conducted by Martin Fischer-Dieskau, received unanimous praise from audiences and critics alike for its carefully selected programme, which reflected the maestro’s artistic legacy and spiritual core.

In May 2025, the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau will be commemorated on the centenary of his birth. As the most iconic art song interpreter of the 20th century, his name is also deeply connected to another towering figure in music: conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.

To mark this occasion, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra will once again welcome German conductor Martin Fischer-Dieskau, with special sponsorship from the Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of China. Together, they will present the second concert of the “Melody of the Masters” series on 9 May this year. This concert not only honours the centenary of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau—one of the greatest baritones of the 20th century—but also builds upon last year’s successful collaboration by once again paying tribute to Furtwängler.

This May marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of my father, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. On this special occasion, we return—after last year’s concert—to honour Wilhelm Furtwängler through music. One could say that Furtwängler paved the way for the young Fischer-Dieskau’s path to the international stage. In the summer of 1950, at a private house concert, he personally accompanied the young singer in Brahms’ Vier ernste Gesänge. After the performance, he said excitedly to his wife Elisabeth, “Such a young man already knows what is most important in music—it’s astounding!” After a brief pause, he added, “But so did I.” Thus, the two artists developed a deep spiritual connection and resonance through music. — Although their collaboration was cut short due to Furtwängler’s untimely death, they left behind memorable recordings and performances together: Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, the role of Kurwenal in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and in 1954, the year of Furtwängler’s death, Fischer-Dieskau sang Wolfram in Tannhäuser at Bayreuth. Twenty-five years later, in Munich and Berlin, he took on the role of Hans Sachs in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg—a remarkable operatic venture. At first, the audience was surprised by the bright timbre of his baritone, but they were soon captivated. His artistry won the hearts of musicians and audiences around the world. Even in distant China, he has many devoted listeners. Numerous baritones are planning performances to honour the centenary of his birth.

Among the precious recordings left by Furtwängler, the overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 undoubtedly stand as pinnacles of his artistry. His 1953 Schumann recording is now considered a “World Cultural Heritage.” Today, once again under the banner of “Tribute to Wilhelm Furtwängler,” we revive the classics he loved and even perform from scores he personally annotated—not to imitate or replicate the maestro’s voice, but to carry forward his spirit, to look up to his ideals, and to reawaken in our time the unique world of classical music that he pioneered.

The first half of this concert centres around the works of Wagner, focusing on his continuous exploration of the structural principles of emotion–symbol–sound. A musical arc is constructed, moving from orchestral expression to vocal expression and returning to a structural conclusion. The programme opens with the Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, followed by two arias — “Was duftet doch der Flieder” (How fragrant the lilacs are) and “Wahn! Wahn! Überall Wahn!” (Madness! Madness! Everywhere madness!), which reflect Hans Sachs’ dual psychological journey of internal collapse and return to reason. Next come the “Evening Star” aria (O du mein holder Abendstern) from Tannhäuser and the Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, leading the audience into the lyrical imagery of night and the symbolic world of light, respectively.

The second half features Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 120, which serves as the concert’s final structural and emotional anchor. Conductor Martin Fischer-Dieskau, with meticulous academic rigour, has thoroughly studied the manuscript of Schumann’s score used for years by Wilhelm Furtwängler. He also conducted comparative research on Furtwängler’s 1953 studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic (14 May 1953) and the live performance at the Lucerne Festival (26 August 1953). This performance seeks to closely follow Furtwängler’s generative approach in terms of tempo fluctuations, phrasing, and tonal structure, and to reconstruct, as faithfully as possible, his interpretive framework of breath–interiority–fate structure.

It is worth noting that Martin has publicly stated that his lifelong dream was to conduct a complete performance of Tannhäuser. However, his favourite interpretation — Franz Konwitschny’s recording with the Staatsoper Berlin, featuring a golden cast of legendary singers including his father Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hans Hopf, Fritz Wunderlich, Elisabeth Grümmer, and Gottlob Frick — has achieved such a level of excellence that he feels it is “unsurpassable.” Thus, this dream has remained unfulfilled, a poignant and sincere wish in his artistic journey.

Martin Fischer-Dieskau was born in Berlin in 1954 and is the son of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He comes from a distinguished German musical family and has a diverse academic background, including studies in composition, conducting, piano, violin, languages, and musicology. He has held long-term conducting posts at the Bern Theatre, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and has conducted over a hundred internationally renowned orchestras including the German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and London Philharmonic. Martin possesses deep insights into the art of conducting and has conducted systematic research on the traditions of Wagner and Furtwängler. His doctoral dissertation, Conducting in the 19th Century: The Italian Special Path, is considered an important work in the field. He has also taught for many years at the University of the Arts Bremen, making him one of the most prominent conductors in the German-speaking world who closely integrates conducting practice with academic research.

Hu Sihao, one of the most representative baritones in contemporary China, holds a doctorate from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He studied under Professors Zhou Zheng and Liao Changyong and was selected for the prestigious Merola Program at San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Artist Program, and became a resident soloist at the Kiel Opera House in Germany. He is also a contracted singer with both the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the Shanghai Conservatory Opera House. Hu has performed major roles in numerous Chinese and Western operas, including Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Turandot, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Carmen. He is especially known for the richness of his vocal tone and his precise control over diction, with a stage presence that is remarkably versatile. In recent years, he has also starred in several original Chinese operas and has been invited to perform in countries such as Italy, Germany, and Australia, building an artistic footprint across Eurasia. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the Gold Prize for Bel Canto at the 12th China Golden Bell Music Awards, First Prize at the 14th American Classical Singer International Vocal Competition, and awards from the Bologna International Vocal Competition in Italy. His vocal style blends European traditions with contemporary Chinese expression, demonstrating great artistic depth in both art song and operatic performance.

The Harbin Symphony Orchestra traces its origins back to 1908, when the military band of the Russian Amur Railway Corps performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture in Harbin — the earliest public symphonic concert in Chinese history. Evolving from the orchestra of the China Eastern Railway Club, it became the first professional symphony orchestra in Chinese history. In the 1930s and 1940s, it earned the reputation of “the foremost symphony orchestra in the Far East” and was fondly known as “Old Harbin Symphony.” As a key symbol of Harbin’s brand as the “City of Music,” the orchestra has collaborated with world-renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tang Muhai, Zheng Xiaoying, and Li Delun, and has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic. Since 2017, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra has entered a new phase of international reorganisation, adopting an innovative “concert hall and orchestra integration” model, opening global auditions for musicians, and appointing internationally celebrated conductor Tang Muhai as its Artistic Director. Its overall artistic standard has continued to rise. In recent years, the orchestra has not only been active in major domestic festivals, competitions, and state functions but has also represented Chinese culture abroad in Switzerland, Russia, Austria, Japan, and other countries — telling Chinese stories through the language of symphonic music. This renewed collaboration with Martin Fischer-Dieskau is a natural extension of the orchestra’s artistic vision and international partnerships.

Let us look forward to this evening together — a spring night in Harbin, the birthplace of symphonic music in China — resonating with the deep echoes of the German-Austrian musical tradition.

We sincerely wish the concert a great success!