The Norwegian string ensemble the Trondheim Soloists and renowned Chinese Erhu virtuoso Liu Guangyu were reunited in India in a performance at Strings of the World Festival.
Strings of the World is a world-music festival focusing on string instruments initiated by the Indian classical violinist Sharat Chandra Srivastava and Steinar Larsen of the Trondheim Soloists (Trondheimsolistene). The first Strings of the World festival was successfully held on 16 November this year in Delhi, India.
Liu Guangyu made a deep impression on the audience with his charisma on the stage and impeccable mastery of the Chinese traditional string instrument Erhu. Self-composed works, and pieces of both traditional Chinese and western repertoire were performed together with the Trondheim Soloists. Passion, energy, charisma, and quality were words used to describe the concert.
More than being a renowned Erhu artist, Liu Guangyu is also director of Chongqing Symphony Orchestra and Chongqing Opera. The Trondheim Soloists, started out in 1988 by a group of student musicians, but has since then become one of the most interesting young ensembles performing on the international stage.
The collaboration between the Trondheim Soloists and Liu Guangyu started in 2010, when the Trondheim Soloists were touring China in connection with the Shanghai World Expo. Their first performance together with Liu Guangyu was a Norwegian-Chinese friendship concert in Chongqing, as Sør-Trøndelag County where the Trondheim Soloists are based, and Chongqing Municipality, where Liu come from, have a friendship agreement. Both Liu Guangyu and the Trondheim Soloists now look forward to continue their musical collaboration in future performances together.
