The China National Symphony Orchestra is China's national orchestra.

It was originally founded as the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China in 1956 under the baton of the famous Chinese conductor Li Delun. In 1996, it was restructured and renamed the China National Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Xia Guan is the orchestra’s executive director. The orchestra’s principal conductor is Michel Plasson, principal resident conductor is Xincao Li, Muhai Tang is the conductor laureate and En Shao is the principal guest conductor.

Li Delun conducted the first concert in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mozart in Beijing after the founding of CPOC. On October 1, 1959, the concert of Beethoven No.9 was performed by the orchestra in Beijing, and all the musicians were Chinese. In 1996, the Central Philharmonic was restructured and renamed the CNSO. At that time, the CNSO not only played much western classical music such as Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, but it also introduced lots of works such as Yellow River Cantata by Chinese composers.

According to ChinaCulture website, the CNSO’s first director, Delun Li, born in 1917, was a famous musician and conductor in China. He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory in 1943, and he studied in the Moscow Conservatory from 1953 to 1957. He conducted over twenty orchestras throughout the former USSR. In the fall of 1957, he returned to China to be Conductor and Artistic Director of the CNSO. Delun Li, as a guest conductor, toured Spain, Germany, Canada, and USA.

Date: October 25, 2014

Venue: NCPA-Concert Hall

Add: No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing

Source: NCPA