Hong Kong-based erhu player Cheng Xiurong will collaborate with China Symphony Orchestra to give a charity concert at the Beijing Concert Hall tomorrow evening in aid of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Under the baton of Hu Bingxu, Cheng will play his signature work, The Third erhu Concerto Story of Water in the River composed by Zheng Bin. He will also perform other popular erhu works, including Moonlit Night by Liu Tianhua and Melody of the Great Wall by Liu Wenjin.

Based on the theme melody of Water in the River, the folk music common in Northeast China, Zheng composed his third erhu concerto in the late 1990s and commissioned Cheng to premiere it in Hong Kong in 1999.

The "story" Zheng created in his 25-minute score is about a woman who loses her husband in the war and is looking for him along the river.

The composer makes good use of the erhu, the two-stringed vertical instrument that is best suited for sentimental melodies, to portray the tragic story. Master player Cheng, meanwhile, interprets the piece with his highly delicate techniques, devoting all his passion to evoke emotions from the audience.

Since the debut of his concerto in 1999, Cheng has been widely acclaimed by both his fellow players in the erhu scene as well as fans.

"Cheng's performance sounds profound and expressive," said Min Huifen, one of the world's renowned erhu players, who taught Cheng when he studied in Shanghai Conservatory of Music. "Thanks to the orchestration by Zheng Bin and Cheng's techniques, the concerto version has enriched the old folk melody."

After winning the First Award at the National Folk Music Performing Competition organized by the Ministry of Culture in 1982 and giving his first recital in Beijing in 1986, Cheng has become one of the most active erhu players in China.

In 1988, he moved to Hong Kong and played with many traditional instruments and orchestras in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and South China. Now he serves as the artistic director of Hong Kong City Chinese Tradition Instruments Orchestra, which was founded in 1994.

Besides regular concerts, Cheng and the orchestra gave many free educational performances to the public.

"In Hong Kong, there are many old people who love traditional Chinese music. And now more and more young people show interest in it," Cheng said. "I enjoy performing for them, sharing the music with them, and I would like to do my best to promote the traditional Chinese music to the wider public."

(China Daily September 8, 2005)