?Japanese conductor Norio Ohga has become very ill, and is now on his way to the hospital. I will now conduct the Tokyo Philharmonic. The music will continue from where it had stopped."
These were the words of Yu Long as he stepped onto the stage following the collapse of 71-year-old Norio Ohga from a brain hemorrhage as he conducted the closing concert of the 4th Beijing Music Festival on November 7, 2001.
The Poly Theatre's audience was aghast when Ohga, also chairman of the Sony Corporation, slumped slowly down towards the end of the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5, and the orchestra fell silent.
Yu, artistic director of both the Beijing Music Festival and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, in the true manner of an arch professional, stepped forward, took up the baton and brought the concert to a proper close, completing the performance of the Tchaikovsky symphony.
The story of Yu's actions that evening have joined the annals of theatrical legend and have circulated as worthy of emulation in the music circles of China, Japan and even the world.
His display of artistic talent and ability to handle the totally unexpected, also won over the renowned Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony.
Actually he had never worked with the orchestra before that fateful night. "I did not expect to collaborate with them for the first time under these circumstances," Yu said afterwards.
Then, last September, Yu conducted the China Philharmonic Orchestra on its tour of Japan where concerts were given in Tokyo and Osaka.
The concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo was a great success and the host has decided to hang Yu's photograph in the lobby of the famed concert hall, alongside many of the world's leading musicians who have also performed there.
Because of that unforgettable "first co-operation" with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the acclaimed tour in Japan, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the best in the world, invited Yu to conduct its first overseas tour following its merger in 2001 with the Shinsei Orchestra.
Sponsored by the Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan, the three concerts in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing are also part of the celebrations to mark the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan.
The Shanghai concert was held on Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, while Guangzhou's will be performed this evening at the Xinghai Concert Hall, with the last stop Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall on March 27.
The program includes Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor and Mahler's Symphony No 1 in D major.
The concerts will also feature Chinese cellist Wang Jian who Yu recommended to join the tour.
During last September's tour of Japan with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Wang won the hearts of local audiences with his rendition of Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor.
"Wang is one of the best Chinese musicians in the world. He has both wonderful techniques and passion in playing," said Yu. "We could feel each other so well during rehearsals."
In addition, Yu has a high regard for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
"It is very professional. All the members are very familiar with the two pieces I select to perform and show a good understanding of them," he said.
Considered to be one of Beijing's musical luminaries, Shanghai-born Yu was educated at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin.
Yu has been the guest conductor with orchestras from across the world, most notably the Hamburg State Opera, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Leipzig and the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields in London.
In 1998, he was appointed artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival and has used that venue to bring to China much-needed international talent, including conductor Lorin Maazel, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, soprano Barbara Hendricks, Jose Carreras, and the Vienna Boys Choir.
In 1999, Yu helped found the China Philharmonic Orchestra, bringing together a dedicated and fresh group of talent, some of whom had led other well-known companies, to join the fledgling orchestra.
Today, Yu is described by some critics and the media as the poster boy for all that is commercially viable about high art in modern China. But Yu himself wishes to be judged only as an "artist" or "musician."
"I have made great efforts in management, but good management is to secure good art production," said Yu.
"I feel glad to see people appreciate my work in helping regulate the highbrow art market in China and winning more sponsors for the orchestra and the festival, yet I would be happier to know that they agree I am a talented conductor and I could handle my orchestra very well on stage," he said.
His skills both as a musician and as a creative manager will see the announcement of his appointment as artistic director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra ahead of tonight's concert, which he will lead at the Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou.
As the founder and artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival, artistic director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and soon-to-be artistic director of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Yu is indisputably at the vanguard of China's classical music scene.
(China Daily March 25, 2003)
