Musical tribute to Chinese New Year, philanthropist

"We can reach places with our music that other things cannot," Yang told China Daily. "We can touch emotions and thoughts of people that are protected. I believe in the power of music and the communicative power of music, and we can tell them what we live for."

Yang effortlessly displayed his versatility by playing his violin in a powerful, striking, rhythmic way in conjunction with the string section of the orchestra. He was also able to evoke the sweetest sounds.

"I think there is a purity to [Chinese music], a different kind of narrative to it that I feel close to," Yang added. "I'm from Korea. But I grew up listening to it. We use the same kind of scale. It is in my blood. I would love to introduce more music from Asia because it is really pure and beautiful in nature."

Conductor Tianyi Lu, dressed in black and red made, her NY Philharmonic debut leading the orchestra in Li Huanzhi's Spring Festival Overture; the prologue to A Mad Tea Party from Unsuk Chin's opera Alice in Wonderland; Casella's La donna serpente. She also conducted Suite No. 1; Chen Yi's Chinese Folk Dance Suite, featuring violinist Yang and Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1.

After the concert, Lu described her experience as "unforgettable". She looked at home in charge of the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States founded in 1842.

"It was a joy to work with the musicians," she told reporters after the show. "It was a difficult program; there was a lot of new music that they had never played before, but they took to it very well, and we accomplished a lot in only two rehearsals."

Elements of Chinese culture were woven into the night by Chen and her team, including lion and dragon dances.

Composer Chen Yi was thrilled by the command of the conductor, the talent of Yang, and the musicians' rendition of her work.

"I think that it was a great performance, first rate!" she told China Daily. "You already know how great NY Phil is, and seeing the culture being brought together was excellent."

The Chinese-American composer began studying classical music at age 3, as her parents liked the genre. Her storied career has included many accolades including awards from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and American Academy of Arts and Letters Lieberson Award.

"I think that it's great having the Chinese Lunar New Year festival being celebrated by different cultures who were in the audience. They came from everywhere; they enjoyed the Asian music combined with Western music and the composition techniques," she said.

"It was a first-rate performance to share with people around the world. That is very meaningful to bring cultures together to bring understanding between people from different backgrounds. It was a very celebratory event."