Despite appearances, ‘Couleurs de Chine’ sounds only mildly ‘exotic’. I think this is more a consequence of the infiltration ofWestern classical sensibilities into Chinese music than of any adjustments by my European ears. The booklet notes provide a useful potted history of how this infiltration process was accelerated by the appointment of Mario Paci as conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 1917 and the subsequent influx of White Russian refugees.

The interaction of influences and counter-influences that have flowed between Chinese and Western music (through the work of composers like Debussy, Ravel, Cage and Cardew on the Occidental side and those represented here and on ‘Chinasong’) is a fascinating topic, but in the end the music must stand on its intrinsic merits. All these compositions are full of charm and are pleasant to listen to, but the majority are rather slight. Chu writes with the most grit. The rest of the pieces are pretty and well-turned, sounding as pure as the proverbial mountain-stream. I enjoyed listening to them all, but nowhere is there any hint of the striking syntheses achieved by the likes of Tan Dun or Qigang Chen.

As on ‘Chinasong’, many of the pieces are based on folk melodies, and most date from the 1960s and ’70s, though The Night of the Torch Festival was composed in 1953, Love Song in 1985 and Toccatine in 1989. This most recent piece is an overtly virtuosic outing, which Jia Zhong negotiates with panache. The recording is very ‘live’ and captures her deft and varied touch well.