The New York Times
By David Barboza
November 9, 2009

SHANGHAI — Just over an hour into a rehearsal here last week, the maestro’s baton came down like the crack of a whip, and the music screeched to a halt. Long Yu, the imperious 45-year-old conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, wanted perfection.

“Hold it, hold it!” he bellowed. “We want something smoother, as smooth as a lake. Now try it again.”

The orchestra was preparing to perform music by Mozart and Mussorgsky and a selection of Chinese pieces the next night here before traveling to New York for a performance at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday evening, when it will close Ancient Paths, Modern Voices, the hall’s three-week celebration of Chinese culture. Then it will perform in 11 other North American cities.