A concert without audience took place at Shanghai Symphony Hall on Mar 14. The chamber concert was the first show since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in January, according to Li Pei, first violinist and concert master of the SSO. Li and colleagues, cellist Zhu Lin, second principal violinist Miao Lejun and viola player Yu Haifeng, presented the concert in the Chamber Hall.

The concert was livestreamed on multiple websites such as Douyin, The Paper, and Kankan News.

"We as instrumentalists very much missed the stage," Li said. "This is the first time we performed in front of so many equipment and no audience members. We had to take a minute to adjust the mood, but soon were able to enter the world of music and played just like we always do."

"We chose to present a concert of string pieces because you really can't play the wind instruments with the face mask on," said Zhou Ping, director of SSO. "People are gradually resuming work and we hope to give back people's cultural life. Watching a livestreaming concert is relaxing and easy," she said. "You don't have to sit straight in the concert hall, but find a comfortable position at home, holding your pet dog or cat."

SSO will go on to present more livestreaming concerts in the coming weeks. "Musicians hope to embrace the springtime with people, by sharing their music," Zhou said.

SSO launched a series of initiatives during the outbreak of novel coronavirus, maintaining its interactions with the audience.
 

(Source: Xinhua)