Viola virtuoso tantalizes with tour

He also played the Concerto for Viola and Strings in E-flat Major by Alessandro Rolla, a composer Mei says greatly contributed to the viola, an instrument that is often forgotten, tucked away between violins and cellos. Rolla not only wrote 20 viola concertos and plenty of sonatas for the viola and other instruments, such as the violin, cello and piano, but also wrote small pieces for the viola and orchestra.

"No other composer's legacy boasts this number of compositions featuring the viola," says Mei, who also arranged and played the Sonata per la Grand Viola by Niccolo Paganini, one of Rolla's most famous students.

The Beijing concert was one of five stops on a tour of China, which took Mei and the Berliner Barock Solisten to cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Changsha, Hunan province, between Sept 28 and Oct 7.

"When the other musicians found out that we were going to play in my hometown, Changsha, they were very happy because they wanted to see where I was brought up and learned to play music."

"I had quite a smooth transition after joining the Berliner Philharmoniker," he says, when asked how his life changed after becoming a member of the orchestra. "Musicians love music, and each of them is a great soloist. When they play together, they sound like one. That's the magical thing about being a part of the Berliner Philharmoniker. All I need to do is listen and fit in."

He adds that around 30 ensembles have been formed by members of the orchestra, and that he is keen to play in them in addition to serving as principal viola at the Philharmoniker.