Chamber music to play in China

China is known for its growing interest in classical music.

Later this month, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will help meet that demand when it tours China, the group announced on Tuesday.

"Our coming tour is very much inspired by China's potential to become one of the world's leading classical music nations. With millions of young people learning music, China is fertile ground for planting the seeds of chamber music - something that CMS does with a proven track record of stellar results," society artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han said in a statement.

"We look forward to sharing with Chinese audiences some of the most exciting and highest-quality chamber music of today, and to build a lasting bridge which we hope will be crossed, in both directions, many times in the future," they said.

The CMS, celebrating its 45th year, is the largest chamber music organization in the world. It will be the first time that a major chamber music organization has been invited to perform in China.

This tour was initiated after Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong's visit to Lincoln Center in November 2013 and supported and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of China.

An orchestra composed of six musicians, including cellist Finckel and pianist Wu, will start with a performance at the international Beijing Modern Music Festival on May 29, followed by another at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center on May 31. Other orchestra members are pianist Gilles Vonsattel, violinist Arnaud Sussmann, violist Paul Neubauer, and clarinetist David Shifrin.

The Beijing Modern Music Festival is sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture of China. The Shanghai Oriental Art Center was designed by French architect Paul Andreu and opened in 2005.

The all-contemporary program features works that consider the Chinese audience's interests: Beijing-born Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long's Tales from the Nine Bells for clarinet, violin, viola and piano.

"Chamber music in the Western world is considered the highest level of the most sophisticated art form," said Wu, who said the music was unfamiliar to most Chinese.

A chamber orchestra can be made up of two to 20 musicians, without a conductor.

"For culture exchange, we are the most flexible orchestra," Wu said.

"The tour of CMS will further deepen the important role of arts in bringing two countries' people closer," said Li Liyan, cultural counselor and head of the cultural office of the Chinese Consulate General.

Hong Xiao in New York contributed to this story.