The second that he stopped moving the baton in the air, enjoying the last notes, the concert hall burst into thunderous applause and shouts of "Bravo!" and "Encore!"

There was applause lasting more than 15 minutes for the outstanding China Philharmonic Orchestra, the chorus composed of the China National Symphony Chorus and Shanghai Opera House Chorus, soprano Wang Yiru, mezzo-soprano Yang Jie, tenor Dai Yuqiang, baritone Marek Gasztecki and, of course, for conductor Yu.

The concert last Friday evening at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall brought to a close the orchestra's impressive 2002-03 season.

The orchestra began the 70-minute symphony with an urgent and incisive first movement that summed up Beethoven's skill at exploiting his ideas. In its taut structure, there was not one superfluous note.

The galloping scherzo, with its prominent kettledrums, followed. Then came the sublime, gently undulating slow movement that preceded the glorious finale.

It was a victorious end to the orchestra's second season, which started on August 27 last year with the overture to Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini.

Through last Friday's concert, the orchestra has convinced the local fans of Western classical music that it has matured into China's foremost orchestra even though it was set up only three years ago.

Yu recalled: "As I look back over the past season, some very special moments spring to mind: the successful tours of the Republic of Korea and Japan, the premiere of Ye Xiaogang's The Scent of Black Mango for piano and orchestra and John Sharpley's zheng (Chinese zither) concerto, the New Year concert, which has now become a major cultural event in Beijing, Mahler's Symphony No 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) at the opening concert of the fifth Beijing Music Festival and Orff's Carmina Burana."

The concerts mentioned by Yu were very favorably reviewed both in China and abroad. Last September, the concert at Tokyo's Suntory Hall was a great success and the host decided to hang Yu's photograph in the concert hall lobby, alongside many pictures of other world-renowned musicians who have performed there.

Under Yu's baton, the orchestra's second season included a wide range of work of different styles and periods. The highlight was the Immortal Beethoven Series, which consisted of all the great musician's concertos and symphonies -- a remarkable feat for any orchestra.

No less exciting was the formidable list of well-known artists who worked with the orchestra. They included the great virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman, violinists Joseph Silverstein and Lin Cho-Liang, pianists Leon Fleischer and Joerg Demus, cellist Wang Jian, conductors Krzysztof Penderecki and Tang Muhai, and baritone Liao Changyong.

Yu attributed the achievement to the talent and dedication of the performers. He said this past success has inspired him with confidence for the future.

New season

Before last Friday's concert, Yu announced a more ambitious third season. There will be 35 concerts, including European tours in September. The orchestra will perform at the Paris Opera House and Vienna Musikverein Golden Hall and at the Krzysztof Penderecki Music Festival in Warsaw.

The coming season will open at the Poly Theater in Beijing on August 30. Under Yu's baton, up-and-coming pianist Lang Lang will play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 in B Minor.

The second half will comprise Mahler's Song of the Earth, featuring tenor Warren Mok and baritone Liao Changyong. It will be the new season's first concert featuring Mahler.

The orchestra had to cancel 12 concerts late last season because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, including a performance of Mahler's Symphony No 10. The musicians will make up for that in the coming season by playing his second, third, sixth, seventh and ninth symphonies.

With his usual confidence, Yu said: "Some people doubted whether the newborn orchestra would be able to play all of Mahler's work in three seasons, as I promised when the China Philharmonic Orchestra was set up in May 2000. Now we will prove our ability with our concerts."

In addition to Mahler, the orchestra will perform Penderecki's Symphony No 4, a work that the orchestra's principal guest conductor composed in 1989 to mark the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The coming season's program also includes Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale, a short opera featuring three narrators and a dancer; Guo Wenjing's two operas A Madman's Diary and Night Banquet; and a concert version of the opera Carmen.

"We aim to be an all-round orchestra. In the past two seasons, we have been able to play symphonies, chamber music and now opera," Yu said.

"We start with contemporary Chinese works. Both of Guo's two operas have been performed and won acclaim abroad. It would be a pity if audiences at home could not see them," he added.

Rich show

Directed by Lin Zhaohua, one of the most renowned contemporary drama directors in China, the performances of Guo's two operas will also star tenor Fan Jingma, soprano Wu Bixia, baritone Gong Dongjian and Peking Opera singer Jiang Qihu. They will perform on a stage designed by Zeng Li, who has designed for Zhang Yimou's production of Turandot and the ballet version of Raise the Red Lanterns.

To mark the 100th anniversary of Antonin Dvorak's death, all of the Czech composer's concertos and symphonies will be performed under the baton of Yu Long, Zhang Guoyong and Tan Lihua.

"We have planned very extensive programs for the coming season, programs that would challenge any world-class orchestra," said Yu. "With these impressive programs and internationally known musicians, I hope next season will be a world-class season.

"As a professional orchestra, we work hard every day to serve our audiences. I believe that, one day, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will gain an international reputation in Asia and throughout the world."

Yu also said that, next February, the orchestra will record CDs of Mahler's Song of the Earth and The Butterfly Lovers (Liangzhu) for Deutsche Grammophon. The orchestra has already recorded Wagner's Overture to Tannhauser and Brahms' Piano Quartet in G Minor for the German label.

(China Daily July 16, 2003)