Guo Xiaoyi, the youngest cellist with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, spoke with little more than her eyes to Yang Yang, the orchestra's resident conductor, who was sitting behind a piano.
Out came a flow of melodious cello and piano notes that intertwined and filled the room.
For several minutes, the orchestra's leading members, including artistic conductor Yu Long, listened to the piece rapt on Saturday evening in a suburban villa in Beijing.
The house remained quiet until Yang Yang produced the last note, low and deep. As the note faded, warm applause took its place.
"The music leaves a lot of imaginative space for both musicians and audiences," Yang said after the performance.
William Krueger and his wife, Rebecca Krueger, were among the most excited audience members.
The short piece is part of a new cello concerto the American couple have commissioned from world-famous composer Philip Glass to celebrate the 50th birthday of British cellist, Julian Lloyd-Webber.
The new cello concerto is not just a gift to Julian Lloyd-Webber, however.
"It is a 'joint-venture,'" Krueger said, explaining that he and his wife have planned for the world premiere of the new cello concerto to take place during this year's Beijing Music Festival on October 20. Furthermore, according to Krueger, the piece will be played for the first time by the China Philharmonic Orchestra in cooperation with Webber, under the baton of Yu Long.
The China Philharmonic Orchestra, which was born only last year, calls "for something extraordinary," said Krueger, who is very much impressed with Yu Long and his colleagues.
"We are hoping that the orchestra and the Beijing audiences will like the new work so well that it will become a part of the China Philharmonic's repertoire," Krueger said.
Kreuger is hoping Glass' own fame will also help enhance audience interest and the orchestra's reputation during their first tours to Europe and the United States.
Yu Long, who has been serving as artistic director of the annual Beijing Music Festival since 1997, said he believed Glass' cello concerto will be a major highlight in this year's festival, scheduled to open in mid-October.
The Kruegers, who moved to Beijing five years ago from Germany when William was tapped to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Xin De Telecom International Ventures Co, Ltd, said they and their three children consider the cello concerto to be their contribution to the local Beijing community.
"This is our home," Krueger said, likening his whole family to the plants that, when transplanted, easily take roots and bloom in a new environment.
In five years, the Kruegers have found themselves increasingly drawn to life in China and to the community here.
Krueger finds it gratifying that every Chinese he has met is working hard to improve his or her life.
"In climbing up the social ladder, Chinese family members often help each other and bring everyone along," he said. "I have been surrounded by people who have been very hard working. And that's what I find satisfying."
While installing traditional Chinese doors and window frames in their home in Beijing, the Kruegers began also to involve themselves in major cultural events as well.
Rebecca, a soprano by training, is co-writer and co-host of "Let's Talk," an English teaching program on CCTV 2 that also looks to introduce Western culture to a Chinese audience.
William Krueger, toso, has been an ardent music lover. Starting to play the clarinet when he was a boy, Krueger earned his undergraduate diploma in music and theatre. "I studied for my MBA after I discovered that I didn't have the discipline to sit and play the clarinet the whole life," he said.
The family began to take an interest in the Beijing Music Festival when Rebecca Krueger met Yu Long as an early chairperson of the Beijing Music Festival International Board. The board's duty was to increase international awareness and involvement in the event as it tried to bring world-renowned musicians to Beijing each autumn.
"With its fast economic development, Beijing, which is building itself into an international metropolis, must also take on a rich and diversified cultural life," Krueger said.
The festival offers a good opportunity for the family to involve themselves in the cultural life of the local community. "This is a way to make an impact," said Krueger.
Saturday's short performance was only a trial-reading of the new cello concerto.
"It is like a young expectant couple who are watching the movement of the fetus in the mother's womb via ultra-sound screen," Krueger said.
"The orchestra will do a lot of work," said Yang Yang. "The tone color will definitely be different from what we heard from the cello and the piano.
"However, from what I've tried initially, the work will be pleasant to the ear and the orchestra will have a wide range of space for the creative work," Yang said.
(China Daily 04/04/2001)
