The Asian Youth Orchestra is returning to China later this month, with six concerts in four cities.

In 1997, the orchestra performed at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to celebrate Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty. On that occasion, renowned Paris-born Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined the orchestra to perform the world premiere of Tan Dun's "Symphony 1997."

In Beijing next week, two concerts will be held at the Poly Theatre on August 16 and 17. Then the orchestra will move to the Shanghai Centre Theatre on August 18 and 19, Shenzhen Grand Theatre on August 20 and Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall on August 21.

The six concerts will be conducted by Chinese-American musician Bright Sheng and Richard Pontzious, the US founder and artistic director of the orchestra.

Ambitious aim

Founded in 1987, the Asian Youth Orchestra is designed to inspire pride in what can be achieved by Asian musicians while stemming the brain and talent drain that continues to frustrate all Asian nations.

The orchestra's intention is to expose Asia's brightest young musicians to rich and varied artistic experiences, including rare opportunities for exchange, study and touring with some of the world's most celebrated performers.

Pontzious said: "The idea of creating the Asian Youth Orchestra was inspired by my work over 30 years ago in Japan, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, where I conducted numerous bands, orchestras and choirs."

Born in Utica, New York, Pontzious has devoted his life to music in Asia since he graduated from the College of Music at New York University.

Fluent in Japanese and conversant in Chinese, he developed the instrumental music department of St Mary's International School in Taipei and Tokyo, and then founded the Asian Youth Orchestra in 1987 with New York-born violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin.

"Wherever I travelled and worked, students asked me how they might go abroad to study - an innocent question, the tragic consequence of which is that so many who leave Asia never return to share their gifts with succeeding generations," said Pontzious.

"So creating an orchestra that would unite the region, celebrate the excellence of the young people here and encourage them to build on what they have at home was my objective when I wrote the first draft of a plan for founding the Asian Youth Orchestra."

The orchestra's current 104 young members range in age from 15 to 25 years and represent the finest young musicians in Asia.

Chosen through highly competitive auditions held throughout the region, they are among the best of the best from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Since the orchestra's establishment, its students have performed nearly 200 concerts in 124 cities to nearly 750,000 people. The orchestra has performed with a number of renowned musicians, such as cellists Yo-Yo Ma and England's Julian Lloyd Webber, Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer, Dutch soprano Elly Ameling, Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, the legendary Beaux Arts Trio of the United States, and Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger.

The orchestra's conductors have included the late Yehudi Menuhin, the late Berlin-born American Lukas Foss, the late Alexander Schneider of Lithuania, Estonia's Eri Klas, Hong Kong-born Canadian Samuel Wong and Romanian-born American Sergiu Comissiona.

Expressing his excitement about the tour, Pontzious said: "Once again, the Asian Youth Orchestra's generous friends, contributors and sponsors have made it possible for us to offer opportunities for study and performance that are second to none in the world."

Making East meet West has been one of the central themes of composer Sheng's life. Similarly, the concerts on the China tour will also feature both cultures.

Impressive repertoire

The first part of the repertoire will be conducted by Sheng. It includes the "Overture to Benvenuto Cellini" written by Hector Berlioz (1803-69), Sheng's own flute concerto "Flute Moon" and his piano concerto "Red Silk Dance."

The opera "Benvenuto Cellini" is based on the life of the 16th-century Florentine goldsmith and sculptor. It is a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. The music, in true Berlioz style, is filled with the utmost brilliance. The libretto twists and turns, changing colour in startling fashion.

"Flute Moon" was composed by Sheng in 1999. In the 1980s, Sheng had just arrived in the United States and his initial period of homesickness saw him frequently use Chinese folk music and the pentatonic scale in his music. His famous concerto for orchestra "China Dreams" came from this period. But "Flute Moon" marks a stylistic change of direction - it is not so pentatonic, but is still Chinese in feeling and character.

Sheng has always been famous for gracefully mixing elements of traditional Chinese music with Western modern idioms to produce a compositional voice that seems assuredly his own.

"Flute Moon" begins with an acerbic flourish from the double basses.

The first movement depicts a dance between a male and female giant Chinese unicorn, called qilin in Chinese. (The unicorn is one of four spiritual creatures in Chinese mythology. The others are the dragon, the phoenix and the tortoise.)

Sheng separated the Chinese name and called the male Qi, represented by the orchestra. Lin, the female, is portrayed by the piccolo solo. The result is a threatening, visceral performance from all concerned.

The movement starts with an exciting string-stirring slightly reminiscent of Shostakovich's forays, as in his superb "Eighth Symphony."

Beijing-based critic Li Cheng said of the flute concerto: "Full of interesting colours and ideas, it is very exciting. The music is so true to life, so humane. All our emotions are there, and sometimes only music can express them. Words are often inadequate."

The second movement of "Flute Moon" is based on the melody of the song "Evanescent Fragrances" by the poet and composer Jiang Kui (1155-1221) of the Song Dynasty (968-1279).

Bright Sheng has translated the libretto as follows:

Oh, moonlight, my old friend,

How many times have you accompanied my flute beside the winter sweet blossom?

We plucked a sprig to arouse her beauty,

In the brisk and frosty air.

But now your poet is getting old,

And he has forgotten the love and lyrics;

Yet, he still resents the few flowers beyond the bamboo,

For their chilling fragrance has crept into his chamber.

Sheng said: "I was particularly attracted by the poet's subtle metaphorical expressions.

"The poet reminiscences and laments China's past prosperity under the moonlight, a witness to the disastrous warfare."

The composer will also conduct his piano concerto "Red Silk Dance," which was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Polish-born pianist Emanuel Ax.

The Asian Youth Orchestra will perform Ottorino Respighi's "Pini di Roma" in the second half under the baton of Richard Pontziou.

The concert will also feature US pianist Robert Taub.

( China Daily August 12, 2002)