Li Yundi joins a classical force

Alan Gibert takes the baton of the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra for its ongoing China tour. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Founded in 1991 by Wu and his father, Wu Promotion now produces between 400 and 500 concerts and events every year, both in the country and abroad.

Two years ago, Wu met Valery Gergiev, director of the Mariinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg, and came up with the idea of launching the Mariinsky Theatre Festival in China to bring Russian music, ballet and opera to Chinese audiences.

The first Mariinsky Theatre Festival took place in Shanghai in October 2016 with operas The Queen of the Spades and War and Peace, concert performances and the ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet staged under the baton of maestro Gergiev.

Following the success of the Mariinsky Theatre Festival in Harbin in August, Gergiev will lead the Mariinsky Orchestra and Mariinsky Ballet back to Shanghai from Nov 26 to 28 for the second Mariinsky Theatre Festival in China.

In addition to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, well-known overseas orchestras now schedule visits to a number of smaller cities as part of their Chinese tours.