The China Philharmonic Orchestra had its first concert in this country last night, to a full house, in Bulgaria Hall under the baton of chief conductor Huang Yi.

Set up in 2000, the orchestra demonstrates an enviable standard of performance of select works, varying in style and epoch. The concert featured Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor by Borodin, as well as the vivid Chou Kong Shan work Concerto for bamboo flute and orchestra No. 2, Melancholy Mountain by Chinese composer Guo Wenjing. The latter is, in fact, written for several varieties of the traditional Chinese instrument, while soloist Wei Sijun is, without any doubt, a veritable virtuoso. He is also a composer and lectures at Shanghai conservatory of music.

The audience was enthralled by the performance of young pianist Serena Wang (Wang Yalun) in the Beethoven concerto. Born in 2004 in Los Angeles, she is currently studying at Julliard School. Though she is so young she has already earned an enviable number of prestigious awards and has had numerous concerts.

The encore came as a real surprise – an orchestra version of the song Hey, field spreading wide, an emblematic song from the times of socialism in Bulgaria.