A Night Tour de force

Creating the concerto was a long process-taking almost three years as the competition was postponed-and he made as many as 90 revisions. "I grew up among many violinists, and it is an instrument that I am most familiar with. This added more pressure, especially since it was a piece composed for a competition, where it would be played by many different musicians with an orchestra."

When creating a new composition for an international competition, it was important to "achieve the balance between providing lyrical expression and offering technical challenges for the contestants," he said. When the six musicians came out in 2021, he listened to their performances and felt confident with their skills and expressions. "Each will be able to give their individual interpretation," he said.

In three chapters, Zhou presented three night scenes in the concerto. "It was meant for the soloist and orchestra, so I wanted to present the harmonious dialogue and chorus between them, as well as some competition between the violin and the orchestra.

"I believe when you can create high quality expression with music, as well as do a good job telling stories with it, you can compose an enduring piece that lives on beyond the competition," he said.

Because the six finalists could not travel to Shanghai, they were unable to play the concerto with the SSO, so Zhou had to make a final revision to adapt the piece for the violin and piano.

"Had there been a formal final round of competition, I would have refrained from any interaction with the contestants, because that would be unfair for others," he said. "But this year, the six finalists were not ranked, and the final round has become a musical carnival."

The SSO arranged online meetings between Zhou and the contestants before their performances, when he answered their questions, and provided them with a list of artworks to help them understand the composition. Zhou named Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks, Chen Kaige's film about Peking Opera, Farewell My Concubine, and the renowned Chinese folk composition by Hua Yanjun, The Moon Reflected on the Erquan Spring.

Later this year, when the SSO kicks off its new music season, one of the six finalists of the violin competition, Lin Ruifeng, a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, will collaborate with the orchestra and present an orchestral performance of Night Tour in Shanghai in November.