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Xian Zhang, principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, fulfils a long-standing dream this month: she is at the helm as the orchestra heads for a tour of her native land. She's sent me a guest post about what this confluence of countries means to her, with a look, too, at the state of musical life in China [compared to the state of things here at the moment, one could weep - jd.]. Enjoy! First, here they are performing Respighi's The Pines of Rome. A Meeting of Minds Guest post by the conductor Xian Zhang Xian Zhang Photo: Benjamin Ealovega It has long been a dream of mine to take a European orchestra to my native country, China, and after years of planning, it is finally happening as I conduct BBC National Orchestra of Wales in five concerts in four major cities 15-21 December.  For me, it’s a homecoming: I was born in China and studied there but, the main focus of my career has been in Europe and the United States. It feels a bit like three old friends m...

You know...when you go to the Last Night of the Proms and fall abruptly in love with a composer you know of, but don't know well, wonder where he (in this case) has been all your life, and then someone offers you a guest post by the world expert on that composer about a rare work that's he's just unearthed and edited? It is with great delight that I welcome Professor Jeremy Dibble to JDCMB with his chronicle of preparing Charles Villiers Stanford's Mass Via Victrix 1914-1918, Op.173 - the composer's personal response to the First World War - for its world premiere complete performance on 27 October. The concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC R3 later, and a commercial recording is in the works for next year. Thank you, Professor Dibble! JD Stanford’s Mass ‘Via Victrix 1914-1918’ Op. 173  A guest post by Professor Jeremy Dibble Born in Dublin in 1852, Charles Villiers Stanford was born into a community of brilliant Anglo-Irishmen in the mid-nineteenth centur...