Debra Li

FOUR top violinists from home and abroad staged a mini concert at the Mission Hills Dongguan golf club Sunday afternoon, using antique Guarneri and Stradivari violins, each worth more than US$5 million.

Opening the concert was Paul Huang, a 17-year-old Taiwan violinist studying at the Juilliard School. He played the works of Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Ravel on a Vieuxtemps, a 1741 violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu.

Winning the loudest bravos were genius violinist Li Chuanyun, who gave a very passionate interpretation of “The Sun Shines on Tashkent” by Chinese composer Chen Gang, Joseph Bayer’s “Dance of the Sorcerer” and Joseph Koo’s “Heart of Fire.” The audience was enthralled by Li’s virtuosity and thorough devotion to the music. He played on a Wieniawski, a 1742 Guarneri.

Chen Xi, a Shanghai-born violinist now studying at Yale University, performed Chinese composer Li Zili’s “Fishermen’s Harvest” and Sarasate’s beloved “Carmen Fantasy.”

Eduard Wulfson, a veteran French artist, played the works of Bach, Tchaikovsky and Ysaye. He performed on a Haddock, a 1734 Guarneri on its first tour to China.

Shi Jiajia, a piano teacher at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, served as the accompaniment at the concert.

Geoffrey Fushi, partner of the Chicago-based Stradivari Society that co-sponsored the event, attended the concert, bringing seven antique violins collectively worth US$61 million.

The concert will be held again at the Shenzhen and Dongguan clubs of the Mission Hills this weekend.