Celebrating 50 years of Chinese-Australian relations, this Ausfeng concert performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra was a showcase of richly evocative melodies and impressive virtuosic displays. The two central works in the program were the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto and the Yellow River Piano Concerto, both of which are well-known pieces, but it’s rare to see them performed live in Australia and even more so to hear both works in one concert.

Guzheng player Jammy Huang with the QSO. Photo supplied

There’s sometimes a sort of apologetic tone paired with these works, along the lines of “well, they were collaboratively composed, you know”, as if that were something to be ashamed of. It’s worth considering that we’re quite happy to have our film, television and pop music all be heavily collaborative art forms, but the moment a collaborative composition hits the classical side of things, eyebrows are raised.

The concert started with a sumptuous orchestral arrangement of the traditional melody Jasmine Flowers, which Western audiences may be familiar with from its brief appearance in Puccini’s Turandot.  No arranger was listed in the programme, however it was a dramatic opener with plenty of...