Chinese violinist Gao Can [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese violinist Gao Can made his debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on May 3, playing pieces that included the Violin Sonata in A Major by Cesar Franck; Violin Sonata No 7 in C minor by Beethoven; 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugene Ysaye and Carmen Fantasie by Franz Waxman.

He also put three Chinese works on his program list, including Zhou Long's Taiping Drum, Li Zili's The Fishermen's Harvest and Sha Mukun's Pastoral Song, all of which were performed for the first time at the venue.

Born in Chongqing, Gao started studying violin at 4 and came to Beijing to study at the affiliated school of the Central Conservatory of Music under music educator Lin Yaoji.

In 2008, while studying at the Central Conservatory of Music, Gao, 28 then, went to the College-Conservatory of Music of University of Cincinnati as a visiting scholar and later taught there.

Now, besides teaching both at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati in the US and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, he also performs internationally.

Chinese violinist Gao Can [Photo provided to China Daily]