The SARS crisis may have deterred some foreign artists who had planned to perform in China, but for others, nothing could stand in their way. Three European pianists came all the way to Shanghai last weekend to show their support of the campaign against SARS.
At this charity concert called "Sunshine of May, Love from the Classics", the pianists played their hearts out with classic and inspiring tunes such as "Marche Militaire" by Schubert, "Fantasia Spaniard" by Liszt, and "Rondo alla Turca" by Mozart. They also selected famous Chinese works like "Liuyang River" by Wang Jianzhong, as well as "Ode to Yellow River " and "Defend Yellow River" from Xie Xinghai's "Yellow River Piano Concerto".
The artists in question are world-famous French pianist Philippe Entremont and two of his students － German piano prodigy and Finnish pianist Laura Mi. All three are regular Shanghai visitors, and it was their love for the city that prompted them to come back despite the SARS scare.
Despite the lack of technical support for a chamber concert, their unchanged energy and emotion, coupled with superb skills, made the concert a tremendous success under the May sunshine.
(CCTV.com May 28, 2003)
