Modern classics

Jin, considered as one of the most promising young Chinese conductors, took home the runner-up prize at two major international conducting competitions in June－the 17th Khachaturian International Competition (Conducting), which was held in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, and the Only Stage International Conducting Competition－launched in January by Only Stage, a management company from the United Kingdom, in partnership with Classics Management Budapest. As the youngest contestant, and the only one born after 2000, Jin is the first Chinese to win an award in either competition.

During their trip to the capital, Jin and Novus-Classica Camerata also gave a concert on Monday, performing Transfigured Night by Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg alongside the Chinese premiere of a rearrangement of four preludes and fugues from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier (Das Wohltemperierte Klavier), the last project of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.

On Saturday, Jin and Novus-Classica Camerata will play two concerts for children, performing French composer Camille Saint-Saens' famous piece, The Carnival of the Animals, marking the 100th anniversary of the composer's death.

"I've been waiting for a long time to present such a young Chinese chamber music group like Novus-Classica Camerata. All the musicians are from the post-2000 generation, and they are eager to experiment with musical ideas through their performances, which respect tradition, but also embrace new possibilities," says Zou Shuang, artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival.