Veteran violinist Chen Xiang dazzled the audience last night at the Shanghai Symphony Hall by performing two violin concertos back-to-back.
In the first half, he delivered a rare live rendition of Violin Concerto "Pathétique", Op. 23 by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst — a notoriously demanding piece celebrated for its sheer bravura. In the second half, he took on Dvořák’s concerto, performing with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zhang Liang.
But it was during the encores that the hall erupted. At 56, Chen demonstrated his formidable virtuosity with Introduction and Variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" from La Molinara by Giovanni Paisiello, Op. 38, arranged for solo violin by Paganini — a showstopper that shook the ceiling and sent shockwaves through the hall.
After the first encore, Chen returned to the stage for curtain call without his violin, suggesting he wouldn’t offer another. But Zhang Liang appeared moments later, carrying Chen’s violin back to the stage and handing it to him.
In a move that stunned the entire auditorium and viewers of the livestream, Chen returned for a second encore — this time performing a flamboyant stunt: detaching the bow’s hair and sandwiching the violin between the strands to play.
Chen later revealed that he had learned the trick from Sergey Levitin during a competition in Italy in 1997. Since then, he has passed it on to violinist Li Chuanyun.
Here are the full encores.
