Mr. Huichang Yan, the Artistic Director and Conductor Laureate of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (“HKCO”): “Yesterday, we were informed that our old friend Mr. Zezhou Wu...

Mr. Huichang Yan, the Artistic Director and Conductor Laureate of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (“HKCO”): “Yesterday, we were informed that our old friend Mr. Zezhou Wu had passed away, which adds to our sorrow at this time of uncertainty. Dear Mr. Zezhou Wu, we will always miss you!”

The news of Mr. Zezhou Wu’s passing in Vienna on January 6 was heartbreaking. The last meeting of the two directors of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Mr. Huichang Yan and Ms. Minhua Qian, with Mr. Zezhou Wu at his home in Beijing, and the first meeting in Vienna in early February 2002, followed by many subsequent gatherings in Europe and China, came back to us as precious memories. 

The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Wu Promotion have worked together four times. The first collaboration was the orchestra’s first overseas tour in 2002 when the HKCO was invited to Germany and Austria to perform at the world-renowned Musikverein among others. The second was a large-scale musical event to Europe with five performances in February 2011. 

In September 2018, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, the orchestra made its third tour with Wu Promotion. Last year, the 18-day tour with seven performances in six countries, celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Rat, marked the fourth cooperation between HKCO and Wu Promotion.

With the opportunity of the Chinese New Year concert series, China’s orchestras have been able to enter the mainstream society in Germany and Austria, the birthplace of Western classical music, and become an important social event for the local society. Compared with the past two or three decades, the economic and trade relations between China and Europe, especially Germany and Austria, have become increasingly close, stimulating people’s interest in Chinese music and culture. More importantly, it is also a result of Wu Promotion’s relentless cultivation on international cultural exchanges.