After more than seven months of preparation, Chinese-American conductor Li Xiaolu finally kicked off his debut season with China National Symphony Orchestra Sunday evening at the National Library Concert Hall.

The opening concert featured American violinist Kurt Nikkanen, one of a dozen international acclaimed artists on contract with the US Columbia Record Company invited by Li to perform this season.

The 38-year-old Nikkanen, one of America's fastest-rising violin soloists, played Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor to the audience's applause.

The First Violin Concerto is the piece that gives composer Max Bruch (1838-1920) his lasting legacy. It is by far his most popular piece.

Nikkanen accompanied by the orchestra was a delicate and elegant representation of music from the classical romantic period.

Nikkanen made his Carnegie Hall debut when he was 12 and two years later was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No 1 with the New York Philharmonic.

In 1986 he earned his Bachelor's Degree from the Juilliard School of Music where he was a scholarship student under Dorothy DeLay.

He has never stopped finding things that interest him about the violin and its literature.

"It gives me a lot of pleasure to be able to communicate those feelings of discovery to an audience," he said. "Just to show what I think is really beautiful and noteworthy about a piece - if I can move an audience the same way I am moved, then I've done my job."

Other programmes in the concert included the Overture of Berlioz's "Le Corsaire" and Respighi's "Pines of Rome."

Conducting the musicians, Li revealed his devotion and eagerness to bring the orchestra into a new level.

The violinist-turned conductor, with a four years' experience being artistic director with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London and two years' with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Maine, knows he's in for a tough challenge.

The China National Symphony Orchestra has experienced dramatic inner change, with artistic directors - the souls of an orchestra - replaced one after another in a short time. Many prime instrumentalists left for undisclosed reasons.

The 47-year-old orchestra also faces the strong challenge from another symphony orchestra in the same city. Established in May 2000, the China Philharmonic Orchestra which started its third professional season on Saturday evening, is rising at an unexpectedly fast pace in China's orchestra scene.

Even the venue, the relatively small and not-so-well-equipped concert hall in the National Library, suggests the re-born national orchestra's future may entail a hard road ahead.

However, Li is a man of verve and grit. His mind is as strong as his physical figure, observers and friends say.

Since he signed a contract with the orchestra in January, he has worked extremely hard and devoted himself and his musicians to achieving three key goals: improving the orchestra's artistic level; popularizing symphonic music on campuses and communities; and inviting a greater number of world-renowned musicians to perform with the ensemble.

Before the new season began, Li auditioned more than 40 applicants and recruited 10 other performers. Most of the new members are either returning from abroad or fresh graduates from the Central Conservatory of Music and China Conservatory of Music, the nation's two leading institutions. He answered metaphorically when being asked if he is satisfied with his orchestra now: "The five fingers of a hand are not the same length. But generally speaking, I am satisfied with and confident in the orchestra."

Li's goals include designing two dozen major concerts for the first season, while balancing the level of the programmes. The concerts are designed to include common classic works to train the orchestra; challenging large scores for improvement; and, popular tunes to attract ordinary, non-classical afficionado audiences.

The rest will cover some contemporary works scored by Chinese composers. "As the national symphony orchestra, we have the responsibility to promote Chinese music and our own musicians," said the Shanghai-born conductor.

Among all the programmes, song cycle "Summer Nights," Russell Peck's "Peace Overture" and Ney Rosauro's Marimba Concerto are to premiere in China.

In addition to the 24 concerts, the orchestra will give 10 concerts of popular works at college campuses and community centres, and eight concerts featuring light music from Broadway or from holiday seasons such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, or New Year's Day.

To achieve his third goal, Li has invited about 30 international acclaimed musicians including a dozen contract artists with the US Columbia Record Company to play in the coming season.

Apart from Nikkanen, conductor James Judd and Gerard Schwarz, violinist Karen Gomyo and pianist William Wolfram are among the big names who have accepted the invitation.

Having adopted successful management practices at two American orchestras, Li said he hopes to bring to China the practice of set season-ticket prices.

He would use three types, respectively costing 5,000 yuan (US$604), 1,600 yuan (US$193) and 800 yuan (US$97).

The cost would include the 24 concerts in the season, with discounts offered for fans with different levels of interest.

Moreover, buying a season ticket is also the way to get a membership of CNSO Friends' Club.

Another two important projects the orchestra will greet next year are two national competitions. One is a concerto competition for young musicians and the other is Chinese Contemporary Symphonic Works Contest to be organized by the Ministry of Culture.

Li said many world-renowned orchestras hold such competitions for young musicians, and they are an effective way to discover and develop new talented young people for the orchestra as well as for the world classic music scene.

"I've heard many young soloists regret that they lacked the chance to work with orchestras before they'd won contests to become soloists. Performing a concerto is a good way to make up for that lost experience," the conductor said.

(China Daily 09/02/2003 page9)

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