The Harbin Symphony Orchestra is a powerful orchestra with a century-old history. In April 1908, the Harbin East-Qing Railway Administration transferred the Russian Amur Railway Second Battalion Orchestra to Harbin and established the "Harbin (Central) East-Qing Railway Administration Symphony Orchestra". This symphony orchestra, composed mainly of Russians at that time, was the predecessor of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra. During the orchestra's heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, it was once known as the No. 1 symphony orchestra in the Far East and was called the old "Harbin Orchestra" by future generations.
In 1899, before the establishment of the "Harbin Jiao" orchestra in Lilao, a chamber orchestra composed mainly of the Czech Ermli family, a railway employee, was the earliest well-documented introduction of Western music in Harbin. music organization. After the China-Eastern Railway was completed and opened to traffic in 1903, the number of railway employees, mainly Russians, expanded rapidly, and their thirst for culture became very urgent. In the book "Manchuria - Music History" compiled by the Japanese writer Iwano Yuichi, the old "Harbin Jiao" is recorded as follows: "(Central) Dongqing Railway Administration established the "Harbin (Central) Dongqing Railway Administration" in April 1908 Railway Administration Symphony Orchestra". In the Chinese Russian Diaspora Literature Series, there is this passage in Yelena Tuskina's memoir "In the World of Music": "Their first concert was in April 1908. The event was held in the shell-shaped open-air concert hall in the back garden of the Railway Cultural Palace, Dazhi Street, Nangang District. "The records of these two documents established the important position of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra in the history of the development of Chinese symphony.
In Yelena Tuskina's memoirs, there is this description: "Many music experts believe that, Harbin's symphony orchestra always brings together dazzling music industry elites. Judging from the composition of the band's members, it can be compared with the best orchestras in Europe. ”
A large number of outstanding performers have raised the overall performance level of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra to an unprecedented height. In the 1920s and 1930s, the orchestra visited Japan three times in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. City. The Japanese National Newspaper stated that the musicians of the "Harbin Jiao" orchestra are artists from Harbin, the "City of Music", and many domestic newspapers rated the "Harbin Jiao" as the first symphony orchestra in the Far East.
The Harbin Middle East Railway Club (now the Harbin Railway Bureau Cultural Palace) was built in 1911. It was the main venue for the Harbin Symphony Orchestra's performances at that time and was the back garden of the "Harbin Jiao" violin. Performer Sidorov wrote in "Memories of a Violinist: Music City Harbin": "It was an era when music, opera, drama, ballet and other art forms flourished. In the summer, in the garden of the Railway Association, there were performances every night by Emmanuel Mettier (a Jewish composer) and the symphony orchestra conducted by Slutsky. "From the above description in Sidorov's memoirs, we can see how frequently the symphony orchestra performed at that time. After the Soviet Red Army entered Harbin in 1945, the Railway Club was renamed the Red Army Club. After the Soviet Red Army withdrew, it was renamed Harbin Railway Cultural Palace. In the orchestra pit of the Railway Cultural Palace, which has not been entered for many years, you can still vaguely see the traces of the signatures of the old "Harbin Jiao" Russian players.
The shells behind the Railway Club. The open-air theater has left us with too many memories: the first performance of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra was held here; 9 of the 10 performances of the first "Harbin Summer Concert" in 1961 were performed here, including the closing ceremony. . After leaving a gap of 10 years, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra began its first symphony concert in the next 50 years here on July 12, 1961.
In the last century, it has been performed here. There are many human tragedies and comedies. In the first half of the century, "Harbin" performed their "Pasody", "Hero", "Pastoral" and "Ode to Joy" here. Since 1933, the orchestra has participated in the "Ode to Joy". Ivan Susanin", "The Queen of Spades", "Carmen", "Madame Butterfly" and other operas were performed here. In the second half of the century, the Harbin Opera House staged the operas "The Merchant and the Lady" and "The Xia Sisters" here. ", "Sister Jiang", "La Traviata", "Screaming to the Sky", "Jiao Yulu", "Ahn Chonggen", "Troilus and Cressida", Harbin Opera House also successfully performed a large-scale performance here. The original revolutionary historical opera "Eight Women Cast into the River"
Fu Gengchen, Chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association, once commented: "Harbin Symphony Orchestra" is the pioneer of China's symphony career. Zhang Caiyuan is a representative of the second generation of "Harbin Symphony Orchestra". One of them was the director of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra from 1957 to 1984. The old man recalled when talking about the first "Hasha": "Pulkrabek's baton was waving gracefully and the atmosphere in the audience was extremely warm. This was the symphony choral concert at the closing ceremony of the first "Hasha" in 1961, and also the farewell concert of the last conductor of the old "Hasha"...".
From 1961 to 2008 In the past 47 years, Harbin City has held the 29th "Harbin Summer Concert". "Harbin Summer Concert" has gone through a development process from amateur to professional to international. The Harbin Symphony Orchestra has participated in the whole process of this history. The first "Harbin Symphony Orchestra" is a milestone for the Harbin Symphony Orchestra. After several years of learning from the old "Harbin Symphony Orchestra" teachers, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra has completed a historic transformation. A new professional symphony orchestra was unveiled.