Debra Li

TRYING to strike a balance between contemporary pop hits and the classical pantheon, Shenzhen Concert Hall hosts a four-concert spring season from March 17 to May 26.

Catering to the tastes of serious classical music fans as well as lovers of pop and Chinese folk music, the programs will feature chamber music, erhu — a two-stringed instrument known as the Chinese violin or fiddle — and pop singers. The bottom line is that Xu Xia, artistic director of the concert hall, gives her word that each concert represents the top standard of its specialized field.

Opening the season will be Voces Intimae, an Italian chamber music trio consisting of pianist Riccardo Cecchetti, violinist and conductor Luigi De Filippi and cellist Sandro Meo.

Voces Intimae’s Web site, www.vocesintimae.it, says the trio channels the true intentions of composers through sensitive attention to tone and phrasing, and brings authentic historical contexts back to life through subtle details. The group’s double CD of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s piano trios, issued by Warner Classics, was named “CD of the Year” for 2006 by BBC Radio.

Cecchetti plays period and modern pianos, with special emphasis on chamber, solo classical and early romantic pieces played on period instruments. De Filippi has a keen interest in chamber music with period instruments. Meo has won many chamber music competitions, nationally and internationally.

Their March 17 Shenzhen concert will feature romantic pieces by Schumann, Mendelssohn and Chopin.

On April 21, erhu player Ma Xiaohui, who graced Shenzhen Concert Hall with a performance last fall, will return with her repertoire ranging from Bach to Western and Chinese folk songs. Ma has redefined the erhu, elevating it to a fine classical standing and stretching its boundaries with new tone colors and techniques.

The musician is most readily recognized for her duet with cellist Yo-yo Ma on the Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” She’ll perform that piece April 21.

Less than a month later, pop fans can enjoy a May 18 concert of Chinese pop songs sung by Zhao Peng, Tong Li, Cai Jing and Xu Le. The singers will take audiences on a nostalgic tour, with a program including Zhang Qianyi’s “On Top of Eastern Mountain” and Teresa Teng’s “Sweet Honey.”

The most anticipated concert of the season, though, is the May 26 closing show that features cellist Mischa Maisky accompanied by his pianist daughter, Lily.

Their program will include Schubert’s “Sonata in A Minor for Cello and Piano,” Brahms’ “Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor,” Enrique Granados’ intermezzo from “Goyescas” and Gaspar Cassado’s “Requiebros.”

Maisky is the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky.

Rostropovich has lauded his pupil as “one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation of cellists.” The master has also said Maisky’s playing “combines poetry and exquisite delicacy with great temperament and brilliant technique.”

Born in 1948 in Latvia and educated in Russia, Maisky immigrated to Israel in the 1970s. During a performing career of more than 40 years, Maisky has been enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin and concert halls across the world.

As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 1985, he has made more than 30 recordings with the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orpheus und Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and many others.

In addition to its four-concert season, Shenzhen Concert Hall will resume its public benefit series of free musical Sundays on March 18. The series offers citizens free concerts and lectures on Sunday afternoons.

Sound of Spring schedule

Italian trio concert by Voces Intimae

8 p.m., March 17

Tickets: 60-380 yuan

Ma Xiaohui’s erhu concert

8 p.m., April 21

Tickets: 100-480 yuan

Hi-fi concert of Chinese pop

8 p.m., May 18

Tickets: 100-580 yuan

Cello recital by Mischa Maisky

8 p.m., May 26

Tickets: 180-880 yuan