Pianist Wang Yalun will perform with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in the upcoming concert. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

"The coronavirus hasn't slowed classical music, though many live performances have been canceled. We are emotional when preparing for this year's New Year concert, which will be memorable and special under the circumstances," says Yu.

He also notes that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and he is excited to have witnessed the vibrancy of the country's classical music scene during the past 20 years.

"One of the most important things about the development of the classical music scene is the younger generation musicians. When I was a young conductor, many older generation musicians helped and inspired me. Now, we need to do the same thing for the young people," says Yu.

Three young Chinese musicians have been invited to perform with the orchestras in the upcoming New Year concert, which, as Yu says, showcases the future of the country's classical music scene.

Pianist Serena Wang, also known as Wang Yalun, will play Ode to the Yellow River, the second movement of The Yellow River Piano Concerto, written by composer Xian Xinghai (1905-1945).

"I've been listening to the piece since I was very young and I tried to capture the spirit of it. Though it was written decades ago, long before I was born, I could still relate to the music," says Wang, who was born in San Francisco in 2004 and learned to play piano at 4 years old. She made her concerto debut at the age of 6 performing Haydn's Piano Concerto No 11 with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, led by Zhang Guoyong, at the Third Beijing International Piano Festival.