The China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) may need a Nigel Kennedy-style populist revival to reverse its flagging fortunes. I attended the CNSO's opening ceremony last Friday night and was stunned by the half-empty Beijing Concert Hall. It was opening night. Where were all the people?

China's fine arts performers have been complaining about the lack of interest from the public, who would much prefer to see Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet" than listen to the music of Rachmaninov. "The Banquet" would have packed Beijing cinemas on Friday night and offered tasty competition to the Beijing Concert Hall organizers, however my estimation was less than 400 people at the CNSO's season opening.

This was shame because the show was brilliant. The small audience was treated to wonderful performances, led by one of the world's most entertaining conductors.

Maestro Shao En is the man who could lead China's classical revival and could take some notation from English violinist Nigel Kennedy, who used a funny haircut and the lively music of Vivaldi to popularize classical music, especially among young people.

Kennedy's recording of "Four Seasons" is the best-selling classical work of all time. More than 2 million copies have been sold.

Shao has a similar, charismatic appeal. Teenage girls screamed with delight at the end of the show. The maestro was presented flowers, which he then threw to members of his orchestra. The French horn player stuck his flowers in his horn. Shao was given a teddy bear by an adoring teenage girl.

The crowd loved it, and so did the maestro. The conductor took centre stage and encouraged us all to come back. He said the CNSO was the best in China's history. He spoke to the half-empty concert hall with sincerity and genuine affection.

This personal touch is the Kennedy factor, which the CNSO's marketing team should promote. Shao's personality should better marketed to ensure more full houses.

The marketing team may want to check out the slick promotions at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, or the Sydney Opera :DHouse. Borrow the ideas. In the short term, maybe organizers, who knew tickets sales were slow last Friday, could have offered student discounts. Opening night deserved a full concert hall.

Despite the turn out, the CNSO was magnificent and showed off its strengths through Bella Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra," an often-used showpiece in orchestral competitions. The finale had an especially thunderous crescendo.

Rachmaninov Concerto No 3 was famously used in the Academy Award-winning movie "Shine" and is one of the hardest pieces to play on piano. It sent Geoffrey Rush's character to the mental hospital.

Piano genius Shen Wenyu climbed the summit of Rach 3 with great skill in a task he's being doing since he was 14, when he first recorded it. I attended the concert with two sisters and one had never seen a live orchestral performance before. The woman in her mid 20s, was thrilled to enjoy the live violins, trumpets, clarinets, horns and percussion and visibly enjoyed the lively music. However when the intensity dropped so did her interest. She had no idea about Shen's Rach 3 challenge but understood the fun of the last Bella Bartok movements. She actually started playing air-violin in her seat when the strings were in full swing.

Would she go back? Maybe if Shao got a funny haircut and started playing Vivaldi.

(China Daily September 21, 2006)