When Italian conductor Rico Saccani was appointed the music director of Guiyang Symphony Orchestra in September, he felt like he was home.

"Almost all the familiar faces when I first came are still here. I kept in touch with several of the orchestra members over the past two years," says Saccani, 64.

Saccani and his predecessor in the orchestra, Chinese conductor Chen Zuohuang, met in the United States as students in the early 1980s.

In 2014, Chen invited him to Guiyang for a few concerts. Saccani's performance was well received by the local audience, and Saccani was impressed by the symphony's professional management. The two sides continue to collaborate, says Sheng Wenqiang, deputy head of the orchestra.

Last year, when Chen's term as music director of the orchestra was ending, the orchestra owner asked Saccani to take over.

"And the rest is history," Saccani says during an interview at a theater in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, where the orchestra is based.

"On top of everything else, being the first foreign music director for a Chinese orchestra is quite an honor," he says.

In picking Saccani, Sheng looked for new energy to take the orchestra forward.

"We hope he can take our orchestra to new heights," says Sheng.

Saccani served as music director of and artistic adviser to the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra between 1996 and 2005.

In 2005, he was given the Legion of Honor by Hungary for "distinguished contributions to Hungary's cultural life for over 20 years".

In his long career, Saccani has appeared regularly as a guest conductor for the Hungarian State Opera, Bavarian Radio Orchestra (Munich), Czech Philharmonic and the Irish National Symphony, among other orchestras.

For him, working with the Guiyang orchestra is quite different from his previous experiences.

Founded in 2009 by local businessman Huang Zhiming, a fan of Western classical music, the Guiyang orchestra is the first privately-run orchestra in China. A foundation established by Huang provides about 20 million yuan ($3 million) annually to support its operation. The city government also sponsors performances and provides venues.

Saccani says the orchestra owner's interest in music is a positive thing for him.

While in Guiyang, Saccani spends most of his weeks at the theater or in his hotel. His Chinese colleagues sometimes take him out to experience life in the city.

The average age of the orchestra's more than 80 musicians is 35, and over a third of them are foreigners.

Saccani, who was the conductor for this year's opening concert by the Guiyang orchestra in September, says the enthusiasm from the audience came as a surprise. The tickets were sold out and even extra ones for standing room were sold to meet the demand.

"You don't usually see this enthusiasm in other concert halls, because the average age of the audience is about 60, while in Guiyang the average age is around 35," he explains.

"It's a young orchestra, it's a young audience, and you can feel this youthful energy in the public."

The orchestra has a 44-week performance season that includes both classical and pop concerts to suit audience tastes.

Saccani has encouraged the orchestra to increase the number of Chinese folk music concerts, which are popular in Guizhou as the region is home to many ethnic groups.

"It's like a menu. You have to try to find the right balance to see how you can appease the biggest possible audience."

He's glad that an effort is underway to cultivate interest in classic music among the local residents.

New concert halls are being built in cities near Guiyang, where the orchestra will provide more performances in the future.

Although Guiyang is a relatively small city in China, Saccani says it is still a major metropolis because of its population of more than 4.5 million and "deserves" to have a major symphony orchestra.

"The Guiyang orchestra is a cultural symbol for the city and the province as a whole," Saccani says, adding that the next goal is to stimulate interest about the orchestra internationally.

Contact the writers through liuxiangrui@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/04/2016 page20)