1899, before the establishment of the old "Hajiao", the chamber orchestra with Czech railway worker Elm Li as the main member was the earliest western music organization introduced to Harbin. 1903 after the middle east railway was completed and opened to traffic, the railway workers, mainly Russia, expanded rapidly, and their thirst for culture became very urgent. In the book "Manchuria-Music History" edited by Japanese writer Yuji Iwano, the old "Ha Jiao" is recorded as follows: "The Symphony Orchestra of Harbin (China) Dong Qing Railway Bureau was established by Dong Qing Railway Bureau (China) in April 1908. There is a passage in the Chinese series of yelena Tuscina's memoir "In the World of Music": "Their first concert was held in April 1908 in the shell-shaped open-air concert hall in the back garden of the Railway Cultural Palace in Dazhi Street, nangang district." The records of these two documents established the important position of Harbin Symphony Orchestra in the history of China Symphony.
In yelena Tuschi's memoir, there is such a description: "Many music experts believe that the Harbin symphony orchestra is always full of dazzling musical elites, and from the composition of the band, it can be comparable to the best band in Europe."
A large number of outstanding performers have raised the overall performance level of Harbin Symphony Orchestra to an unprecedented height. In the 1920s and 1930s, the orchestra visited Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and other cities in Japan three times. According to Japanese Paper, the musicians of "Hajiao" orchestra are artists from Harbin, the "city of music", and many domestic newspapers rated "Hajiao" as the first symphony orchestra in the Far East.
Harbin Middle East Railway Club (now the Cultural Palace of Harbin Railway Bureau), which was built at 19 1, was the main venue for the performance of Harbin Symphony Orchestra at that time. Shell Theater is the back garden of Middle East Railway Club.
Sidoroff, a violinist of Hajiao, wrote in Memory of a Violinist: Harbin, the City of Music: "It was an era when music, opera, drama, ballet and other art forms flourished. In summer, in the garden of the Railway Association, there are performances of the symphony orchestra conducted by Emmanuel Meyer (Jewish composer) and slutsky every night. " From the above account in Sidoroff's memoirs, we can see how frequently the symphony orchestra performed at that time. After the Soviet Red Army 1945 entered Harbin, the railway club was renamed Red Army Club, and after the Soviet Red Army retreated, it was renamed Harbin Railway Culture Palace. In the music pool of the railway cultural palace, which has been inaccessible for many years, you can still vaguely see the traces left by the signature of the old "Hajiao" Russian musician.
The shell amphitheater behind the railway club left us too many memories: the first performance of Harbin Symphony Orchestra was here; 196 1 year, the first "Harbin Summer Concert" 10 performances, including the closing ceremony, 9 of which were here. After leaving the gap of 10, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra began its first symphony concert here in the past 50 years on July 196 12.
In the last century, many human tragicomedy were staged here. For nearly half a century, "Ha Jiao" has interpreted their "sadness", "hero", "pastoral" and "ode to joy" here. Since 1933, the orchestra has participated in operas such as Ivan Susanen, The Queen of Spades, Carmen and Madame Butterfly. In the second half century, Harbin Opera House staged operas such as Salesman and Lady, Summer Sisters, Jiang Jie, La Traviata, Sky, Jiao, An Zhonggen, troilus and Cresta here. In 2006, Harbin Opera House successfully staged a large-scale original revolutionary historical opera "Eight Bitches Throwing into the River" here.
Fu Gengchen, Chairman of China Music Association, once commented that Harbin Symphony Orchestra was the forerunner of China Symphony. Zhang Caiyuan, one of the representatives of the second generation of "Hajiao", 1957- 1984 was the head of Harbin Symphony Orchestra. When talking about the first "Haxia", the old man recalled: "Pulkrabek's baton waved gracefully and the atmosphere was unusually warm. This is 196 1 the first closing symphony chorus concert of Haxia, and it is also the farewell concert of the last conductor of Lao Ha Jiao.
During the 47 years from 196 1 to 2008, Harbin held the 29th "Harbin Summer Concert". "Haxia" has experienced the development process from amateur to professional to international, and Harbin Symphony Orchestra is a full participant and witness in this history. The first "Haxia" is a milestone of Harbin Symphony Orchestra. Harbin Symphony Orchestra has completed a historic transformation after several years' study by the first generation of teachers, and a brand-new professional symphony orchestra is presented to people.