CELEBRATING the Year of the Ox, Ensemble 10/10’s Chinese New Year concert, began with Raymond Yiu’s Night Shanghai, fusing tango with traditional Chinese rhythms and melodies.

Yiu manages a transition from a fragmentary start, through a lyrical, dance-like section to the recognisable tango.

Then, suddenly, the voyeur moved on, back into that fragmented atmosphere.

Unusual was the use of an accordion adding to that languid reminiscence.

SiSi Feng’s Tao Te Ching is clever, combining European bel canto with Peking opera – a tall order, but expertly achieved by soprano Wai-Yin Li.

Hers is a huge, highly adaptable voice which is highly nimble.

The opening was quite violent with sharp edges.

Dense orchestration and the use of pitch deviation constantly tested the soloist singing, often at the extremes of her range.

Ian Stephens’s Oxbow, a world premiere, was written for dai-hu and ensemble.

The dai-hu is a new instrument, developed by Liverpool resident KH Li.

This was a delightfully lyrical piece where the influence of Vaughan Williams or Howells never seemed to be very far away. Yet it was the performance of Yu LeFu on the dai-hu which stole the show.

This deep, two-stringed, cello- like instrument imposed an Oriental flavour on this quintessentially English piece.

There was more successful fusion of east and west in Tan Dun’s In Distance, while RLPO principal clarinetist Jonathan Small brought proceedings to a close with Extase II for oboe and ensemble, by Qigang Chen.

This piece used colour, traditional and new sounds to frame a vivacious and searching piece.

The huge demands placed on Small were achieved in an expert and virtuoso way.

Another triumph for Ensemble 10/10 and music director Clark Rundell.