No time for solo

The Amber Quartet, formed by young Chinese musicians, has toured worldwide and won many awards. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The quartet has toured worldwide, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States. In August, they were invited to perform at 2015 McGill International String Quartet Academy as the first Asian string quartet appeared during the event in Canada.

In early 2013, as the first chamber music group with Chinese government funding for overseas studies, they were accepted into the Institute International de Musica de Camara de Madrid to study for two years with musicians such as Guenter Pichler from the Alban Berg Quartet.

Ning remembers that during one class with violinist Pichler, they were asked for whom is music played.

"From what we learned since childhood, we answered immediately that music is for the audience in the last row. But Pichler laughed and said that music is for the sake of the music, and for God," says Ning.

"We all agreed that musicians should enjoy the music first and then pass the emotion to the audience," says Su.