The China National Symphony Orchestra opened its 2026/27 season with a concert on Sept 5 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

The opening program, the first in the orchestra's Love and Death concert series, featured artistic director Shui Lan, violinist Daniel Lozakovich and the China National Symphony Orchestra performing Czech composer Leos Janacek's Rhapsody Taras Bulba, Don Juan, a symphonic poem written for orchestra by German composer Richard Strauss, and Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 77, the only violin concerto written by German composer Johannes Brahms.

Shui, the artistic adviser of the China National Symphony Orchestra, introduced Rhapsody Taras Bulba at the start of the concert, with the orchestra illustrating key musical passages as he guided the audience through the work's portrayal of a Cossack warrior's tragic fate.

In the concert's second half, Lozakovich, a Swedish classical violinist born in Stockholm in 2001, joined the orchestra for Brahms' violin concerto, a work renowned for its symphonic scale and for blending Romantic passion with classical structure.

The concert was met with prolonged applause by the audience. The orchestra will present 14 more concerts in the series throughout the 2026/27 season, featuring works from different eras, musical traditions and countries, exploring the enduring themes of love and life.