Classically trained performers modernize, popularize traditional art form

The broken guitar string recoiled like a serpent, the metallic twang echoing through the backstage corridors of a Kuala Lumpur theater. Shanghai-born singer Cao Yang stared at his throbbing fingertip, a crimson bead welling where a callus had been pierced.

It was only three hours until showtime at the Arena of Stars — a 5,000-seat venue filled with fans waiting for a performer who joked that six years ago he couldn't fill a Shanghai dive bar.

Cao, 33, is one of a new breed of young Chinese musicians, many of whom are classically trained, cultivating fresh audiences through technology, innovative ideas and the fusion of musical genres. Others are mashing together their musical credentials with massive social media followings to become brand ambassadors for high-end products and luxury items.

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Concert halls and opera houses once filled with silver-haired patrons now pulsate with crowds aged under 30.

"I realized classical training gave me tools, not chains," Cao said.

Cao studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and graduated in 2011 with a focus on musical theater. Before that, he had won several talent competitions after studying music theory and classical guitar from a young age.

Despite his pedigree, he describes himself back then as a prodigy who performed in near empty halls. He said he was once dismissed by pop music producers as playing with "museum-piece rigidity".

From 'dive bar' to star

After completing his conservatory studies, he spent two months preparing for the Shanghai music festival where he hoped to kick-start his career. "I walked on stage to dead silence," he recalled. "Not even the waitstaff stayed."

Career salvation came from two unexpected quarters.

Director Zhou Xiaoqian of the Shanghai Drama Art Center became an unlikely mentor. "Your problem isn't the music — it's believing you are above the audience," he told the young performer.

Then came a game-changing encounter with pop doyen Jay Chou from Taiwan. Cao was performing in The Secret, a stage adaptation of Chou's film of the same name, when the superstar noticed him and offered him a contract.

Cao later infused classic songs from the show with pop music rhythms, appealing to millennial fans of the original performance. "They said fusion was sacrilege. Turns out it's salvation," he said.

The 2023 national tour of The Secret by Cao's troupe attracted audiences with a large number aged in their early 20s — far younger than the typical show-goers. Over 70 percent of the audience was aged under 34. Data from Jucheng, the production company, revealed the tour grossed over 80 million yuan ($11 million), with almost all the 59 shows in Shanghai sold out.

Meanwhile, his livestreaming on Douyin invited users to remix his video clips, enhancing his personal branding through his musicals. His livestreaming has generated over 1.2 billion views on Douyin.

His signature single Weiguang (glimmering lights) — a haunting blend of ballads and synth beats — also helped catapult him to stardom. Cao's music video of the song, featuring him livestreaming inside his room, has gained the performer 1.5 million followers on Douyin.

Public harmony

When Sun Jingkai returned to China in 2015 after graduating from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris he became a resident conductor at the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra.

He was aware most ordinary people in China were unwilling to buy a ticket to watch a performance, and he decided to do something about it.

To attract and cultivate bigger audiences, from 2018 he began giving a free public lecture each week at the orchestra venue. For over two years he explained in layman's terms the structure of classical music, especially symphonies.

At the beginning, there were only five attendees in the hall, but the number gradually swelled to a packed house of 200 people. During the COVID pandemic, he gave nearly 200 lectures on the online video-sharing platform Bilibili, which have so far garnered more than 200,000 views.

In 2020, Sun joined the Tianjin Song and Dance Theater and is now its principal conductor. The 38-year-old conducts various ensembles including folk music, symphonies, operas and ballets.

He has also staged 20 opera performances in Tianjin's streets and alleys and by its Haihe River. A successful performance at the city's Five Greater Avenues area integrated music with the city's architecture and cultural tourism.

"It is not limited to the theater anymore. Both local residents and tourists can enjoy it (the performance), free and open. Music is like movable architecture," he said.

Educational approach

Unlike traditional orchestra conductors, Sun often uses unconventional approaches to bring the symphony closer to the audience.

One of his methods involves talking directly to the audience from the podium, giving details of the composer, the performers and the musical instruments being played. He believes this gives the audience a greater appreciation of the performance.

Sometimes speaking is not enough. During a concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts last year, he invited a well-known landscape painter to create artworks while he conducted on the stage.

He believes for a performance to resonate deeply with an audience, it's important to employ elements that engage multiple senses.

"I've never seen such a novel performance," Situ Cao, a netizen who attended the concert, commented on lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote).

"It was a feast for both the ears and eyes. Hearing the conductor explaining the creation background and artistic concept of each piece and seeing the artist painting, I felt like I could understand the music and become more immersed."

Sun said educational concerts are popular in Western countries, but are still uncommon in China, adding that he has also given educational concerts on Chinese folk music.

During one performance with the China National Traditional Orchestra last year, he explained the creation and artistic ideas behind famous folk pieces such as A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix and The Silk Road.

Player, piano

Ruan Yangyang's humble origins in a small town in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, have been no impediment to his rapid rise in the world of classical music, attending a prestigious performance school in the United States and winning multiple international piano competitions.

"I want to bring music to children in rural areas who don't have exposure to it," the 24-year-old told China Daily. "I want them to know that their background doesn't define them. Every experience can shape them into someone special."

Neither of Ruan's parents was musically trained, but they became aware of his talent at a young age. Due to the lack of piano teachers in his hometown, he made weekly trips to another town for his musical education and piano training.

At the age of 9, Ruan was accepted into the Piano Academy at Gulangyu, Central Conservatory of Music, the youngest student to ever be admitted by the academy.

He continued his studies, and in 2017 was one of only two pianists accepted into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a training ground for the most gifted young musicians from around the world.

He graduated in May 2023 and has won piano competitions in Switzerland, Portugal, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has performed with symphonies on concert stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York.

Ruan also has over 1.5 million followers on social media who he shares his love for music with, which, combined with his waif-like looks, make him a marketer's dream.

He has had collaborations with brands like Land Rover and Kawai, according to his official website, and made appearances at prestigious events such as the Silk Road International Film Festival, and the Tiffany & Co.gala, underscoring his "wide-reaching impact".

At a Feb 16 recital in Shanghai, his program bridged generations with the first five Chopin etudes honoring the classics, and the other seven "anime adaptations "that included Digimon Evolution and Howl's Moving Castle themes.

A China Association of Performing Arts report noted that young audience are more likely to buy tickets for "hybrid performances" like Ruan provided, rather than traditional formats, with frequent attendees rising, the report said.

Leaving a legacy

Even though their individual journeys have been different, Cao, Sun and Ruan are each looking to leave behind signposts for the next generation of Chinese musicians.

Ruan's idea of "giving back" defines his next project — a chamber music collaboration with his Curtis classmates from around the world. Together, they plan to adapt Chinese folk songs using classical techniques. The goal is twofold: to introduce classical music to those unfamiliar with it, and to showcase the beauty of Chinese music to international audiences.

"I want my foreign classmates to experience the richness of Chinese music. And I want Chinese audiences to understand that Western music isn't just about technique — it's about heart," Ruan explained.

He has already adapted the folk song Jasmine Flower into a Chopin-style invention and played it in a practice room at Curtis. "My (former) American classmates think it's exotic," he said. "But I remember the melody as if it had grown inside me."

Sun has seen music audiences become younger, as the country invests more in supporting symphonies and building theaters, which has resulted in a reduction in ticket prices.

He has now set his sights on taking classical music to remote areas to tell China's own story.

As the chief conductor at Guizhou Song and Dance Theatre, he conducted the closing ceremony of the 6th West China Convention of Symphony Orchestras in September in Zunyi, one of the country's old revolutionary areas. The well-known symphony Ode to Mountains and Rivers, which celebrates the revolutionary era, was performed.

His latest plan is to establish music troupes in the country's "Porcelain Capital" of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, through collaborations between Jingdezhen Vocational University of Art. He believes combining performances and cultural tourism is a winning idea.

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Sun's idea for these "mini symphony projects" involves creating an abridged version of Beethoven's symphonies, as well as experimental small-scale chamber music.

"Music is a global language which can blend cultural and tourism elements," he said.

Cao's counsel to young people, based on his own struggles, is straightforward.

"Stop waiting for permission. I nearly wasted years seeking validation from gatekeepers who thought Mozart and Mandopop couldn't mate. Be the genetic engineer," he said.

For young artists in rural China, and around the world, Ruan's advice is also simple.

"Don't feel inferior because of where you come from. Your background will make you special," he said.

"Be kind to people, and luck will come your way. If you succeed, remember to help others. Learning music is not just about technique — it's about expressing yourself. Don't hide in your corner of the world. Go out and see more."

Contact the writers at weiwangyu@chinadaily.com.cn