Under the baton of Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the Philadelphia Orchestra is touring Chinese cities, marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.[Photo/China Daily]

The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, staged at Tianjin Tianjin Grand Theater with tremendous crowds of 1200 fans.

Tianjin, Philadelphia's sister city, is one stop of the orchestra on 2019 Tour of China among other cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou, celebrating the 40th anniversary of US-China diplomatic relations.

"I am very proud that the Philadelphia Orchestra has forged such close ties with China. It's just the continuity of us believing that music is a force that unifies people."said Yannick.

Since becoming the first US orchestra to perform in China in 1973, it has made many trips to China.

"The relationship between the Philadelphia Orchestra and the audiences in China predates diplomatic relations, so we have a responsibility to continue to build on those connections and to make them stronger," says Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

He also expressed his hope for increasing art exchanges between the two sister cities, and create more and more beautiful pieces for audiences.

The Philadelphia Orchestra chose a repertoire that includes Schubert's Symphony in C major, Sibelius's Symphony No 2 and Rachmaninoff 's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini featuring Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen.

From left: Composer Tan Dun, former US ambassador Nicholas Platt and conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin.[Photo/China Daily]