China Anhui Traditional Orchestra debuts at NYC's Lincoln Center

NEW YORK - The China Anhui Traditional Orchestra (CATO) staged its spectacular debut concert at the city's renowned Lincoln Center on Monday, turning the Alice Tully Hall into a wonderland with magic effects of Chinese musical instruments such as Erhu, Pipa and flute.

In Concerto "Swan", the Chinese artists vividly depicted the variety of swans' gestures with Pipa's unique expressionism and elegance, while in Concerto "Thoughts of Red Plums" they demonstrated both mellow and bright tones of Erhu.

The artists also played well-known American folk songs such as "Oh! Susanna" and "Old Folks at Home", in a perfect match and mix of Chinese and American folk music.

"Music has no boundary and it inspires and connects people," said Yu Hongjie, head of the Anhui Song and Dance Theater who traveled with the CATO troupe in the U.S. trip.

"I hope the performance will help enhance cultural understanding between the U.S. and Chinese peoples," he told Xinhua.

The concert is part of the "Image China" annual art tour launched by the China Arts and Entertainment Group in 2009, in a bid to promote Sino-U.S. cultural relations. During the current U.S. tour, the CATO also visited Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington DC. It will perform at Yale University after New York.

Founded in 1956 in China's eastern Anhui province, the CATO is a professional institution devoted to the research, creation, and performing of traditional Chinese music. It has toured more than 30 countries and regions, and gave a hugely successful concert at Vienna's Musikverein in 2009.