Directed by Hu Yongyan, the SBSO explores a wide range of concerts, from the premiere of highbrow contemporary pieces to educational concerts and popular symphonies on Sunday, from the cross-over Shanghaitan Series featuring Chinese movie soundtracks from the 1930s and 1940s with jazz tunes and pipa trios, to the stylish version of Verdi's La Traviata.

In May, the SBSO will present "The Second Chinese Contemporary Music Forum" during the "Spring of Shanghai," the annual music festival held in the metropolis. More than 20 composers and instrumentalists from all around the world are invited to the forum.

The SBSO will present an exciting piano marathon. From 12 pm to 12 am non-stop, numerous pianists will gather and jam to the most contemporary tunes to the delight of audiences at a local hot spot, Xintiandi.

Besides the forum, the orchestra has played with world-renowned musicians throughout its recent season, which was kicked off by Itzhak Perlman, who performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major on August 24 at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Following that, a number of big names from both home and abroad provided a feast for local classical music fans with amazing performances.

The events already staged have won wide acclaim from experts and audiences alike. One of the most successful examples was at the weekend, when renowned German pianist Sebastian Knauer played with the SBSO for the first time and Chinese pianist Xu Zhong took the baton.

Although it rained heavily, the miserable weather outside did not dampen the enthusiasm of those enjoying the inspiring collaboration between the two piano geniuses.

Some audience members were eager to see how Knauer would interpret the Austrian prodigy Mozart's Overture of the Marriage of Figaro and piano concerto No 21. Wang Yong, a lecturer from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said: "Knauer employs an innovative way to play Mozart and he added a touch of French romanticism to Mozart's pieces."

Sully Taylor, director of the International Management Programme of Portland State University, who is visiting the city with her students on a training project, said: "Xu Zhong is always regarded as a renowned pianist, but we now know he is also qualified as a conductor."

In the second half of the weekend concert, Knauer co-operated with Xu on Mozart's concerto for two pianos in E-flat major and Darius Milhaud's the suites for double pianos Scaramouche (Craven).

When Xu and Knauer ended the last note of Scaramouche, the "encore" requests resonated throughout the theatre. The two played again the most fascinating part of Milhaud's work.

When asked how they reached such harmony while co-operating with each other, Knauer said smiling: "I regard Xu as my elderly brother, we have been good friends for a long time."

Xu said they had been friends for almost nine years.

Xu and Knauer shared the same mentor, Philippe Entremont, while they were in Paris.

Knauer revealed: "It is a big pleasure for me to be Xu's friend and our personalities are very similar - we are very serious during work and we are humorous at leisure, as we know we need laughter to relieve the tension that professional musicians always face."

Additionally, Xu pointed out that the chemistry between them is based on their aptitude for music, rich experience in performances around the world and the excellent training they have received.

"We are well trained to exchange emotion between each other while playing a musical piece together," Xu added.

Xu and Knauer worked together on choosing the repertoire to make the concert more enjoyable for the audience.

Xu said: "Shanghai audiences are well-educated and refined, many of them love Mozart very much. We wanted to present them with our own interpretation of Mozart."

Knauer believes Mozart's music is dark and wanted the audience to know, in his eyes, what real Mozart was.

The pianists are now working on other projects for further co-operation.

"Knauer is from Hamburg, which is the sister city of Shanghai, and Knauer and I have brotherly love for each other, so we hope we can also build a close tie between the musicians of the two cities," Xu said.

Knauer is now organizing a chamber music concert to commemorate Johannes Brahms, who was also born in Hamburg. He asked Xu to help him to invite some Chinese musicians to perform at the concert.

For those local concert-goers who love Xu, the good news is that he will be back to give a concert entitled Xu Zhong and Beethoven in June.

(China Daily March 19, 2003)