Musicians of the orchestra perform for visitors at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing in 2012.

"It's because they did not know how to applaud," Platt told him. "In my experience, this is a most enthusiastic Chinese audience. They've not had such a concert for decades. You can relax. This is really a good response."

Platt, now 78, recently recalled this story in a conversation with China Daily ahead of the orchestra's 2014 China tour, which kicks off on May 21 and runs through to June 5.

It is just one of the backstage stories Platt recounts in his autobiography, China Boys.

"I'm getting older. I really appreciate every opportunity to return to China," says Platt, who became one of the three members of the US Liaison Office in Beijing in April 1973, and worked on many exchange events to pave the way for the two countries to establish a formal diplomatic relationship in 1979, including the Philadelphia Orchestra's 1973 tour.

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