The orchestra is led by female music director and conductor Marin Alsop. [Photo by Adriane White/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The concert program, she added, is perfect for Valentine's Day as it "begins with lots of fire and ends with lots of romance".

The concert opened with Bernstein's Candide Overture, followed by works from Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and Argentine Alberto Ginastera. The second part featured Sheherazade by Russian artist Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Following its China premiere in Shanghai, Alsop and the Sao Paulo symphony will go on to play in Jinan of Shandong province, Beijing and Hong Kong, where the company will feature as the opening performance for the Hong Kong Arts Festival on Feb 21.