U.S. chamber musicians to make debut tour to China

NEW YORK, May 19 -- Musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) will make debut performances in China late this month, the U.S. music institution said Tuesday.

CMS Artistic Directors pianist Wu Han and cellist David Finckel, along with other musicians, will perform at the Beijing Modern Music Festival on May 29, followed by a show at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center on May 31.

"Our coming tour is very much inspired by China's potential to become one of the world's leading classical music nations," Finckel and Wu said in a press release.

"With millions of young people learning music, China is fertile ground for planting the seeds of chamber music," they added.

They said the tour aims to share some of the most exciting and highest-quality chamber music with Chinese audiences.

"We look forward to ... building a lasting bridge which we hope will be crossed, in both directions, many times in the future," said the press release.

Along with the famous New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera, the CMS is one of 11 constituents of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the largest performing arts complex in the world.