US bassist to recall Shanghai's past with concert

Double bass masters Gary Karr (left) and Lu Yuanxiong will stage a concert, titled The Bass Hero, in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In the 1960s, when he started his career as a soloist, the double bass was almost "completely unknown" to the public. It has come a long way, Karr says.

Karr's parents were refugees from Russia and stayed in Shanghai in the early 1900s before migrating to the US, where he was born. He recalls having Chinese furniture and paintings at home and getting interested in Chinese culture at a young age.

His hobby of gardening led him to find out more about ancient Chinese gardens, Karr tells China Daily during a phone interview.

"I always dream to come back where my family lived," he says.

For his debut concert in China, he deliberately chose musical pieces from the early 1900s, to reflect Shanghai back then, when the city was the new land of hope for immigrants.

During their stay in Shanghai, Karr and Lu also plan to visit the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and together present an open concert and an illustration class at the conservatory's He Luting Concert Hall on Dec 22.

Zheng Deren, 92, the first professional double bass player in China, will also join students whom he taught through the decades for the same concert, serving as the guest conductor.

The concert The Bass Hero is part of the monthly Sunday morning concert series that has become a fixture at Shanghai Concert Hall since 1982.

Among China's longest concerts, the series aims to introduce music to a broader audience. In recent years, it has been broadcast live on radio and shared through video and audio platforms online.

If you go

The Bass Hero: Gary Karr and Lu Yuanxiong, with piano accompaniment by Evan Mitchell.

10:30 am, Dec 20. Shanghai Concert Hall, 523 Yan'an Road East, Huangpu district, Shanghai. 400-891-8182.

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