AN older gentleman in traditional Chinese robes takes the stage. Under the glow of a spotlight, he sits down solemnly and strums away at an erhu, a guzheng, or some other Chinese instrument with origins in ancient times. Maybe he is joined by other similarly clad performers. There are no stage effects, no tricks, nothing to stimulate the audience other than the hoary old tunes being played. After several numbers, the house lights turn on again. The show is over.

For many people in China, especially the young, this describes a typical Chinese classical music show. While older aficionados say this staid format keeps the focus on the music, younger audience members raised on glitzy pop spectacles often want more.

Laura Zhao, a 29-year-old office worker, attended a performance like the one described above recently. The tickets were free. She left half way through.

“It was so boring. The pieces were long. Most of the people around me were old. I think it may just not be my thing,” she told Shanghai Daily.

As some classical musicians in China now see it, adapting to modern tastes is vital to winning over young listeners like Zhao and reviving interest in the country’s traditional instruments. But as performers venture into uncharted territory, some traditionalists have bemoaned this new turn.

To broaden their appeal, some performers are incorporating Western elements, instruments and musical sensibilities into their pieces. Others are turning their concerts into stage spectacles, complete with laser lights and special effects. In a nod to other forms of traditional culture, some shows also feature poetry and calligraphy.

One such production is “Rediscover Chinese Music” by the China National Orchestra. One portion of this multi-media musical epic features a zhongruan (a plucked stringed instrument) player who also relates the story of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) poem “Sending Yuan’er off to the West” by Wang Wei. Helping to set the mood are stunning visual effects and projected images of China’s dune-covered west.

When “Rediscover” was staged at the Kennedy Center Opera House in the US, its mix of music, narrative and stagecraft were a hit with critics and audience members alike.

Several weeks earlier, when the show was played in Shanghai, the reception was also largely positive, although some experts within the field questioned its theatricality and emphasis on visual effects.

“We are fighting to get young people to enjoy our art,” says Jiang Ying, the orchestra’s resident composer. “If we don’t change, it might vanish soon.”

Jiang’s concerns seem all the more pressing when one considers the decline in students of traditional instruments. The Shanghai Conservatory of Music, for instance, receives thousands of applications each year from prospective students to its piano program. Some Chinese instrument programs though get only one new student each year.

Go West, young flutist

Chinese bamboo flute player Tang Junqiao, a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, is working to popularize the country’s traditional music by breaking down cultural barriers.

Tang rose to celebrity with her flute performance in the score for Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” This best-selling soundtrack was composed by Tan Dun, who is known for fusing Western musical elements with traditional Chinese instruments. In addition to performances from Tang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) virtuoso Ma Xiaohui also contributed music to the film.

Tang believes the real success of the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” soundtrack was its ability to present Chinese musical traditions in a broadly appealing package. This practice, she says, is critical to spreading the country’s musical tradition.

Over recent years, Tang has toured the world, often playing modern, accessible works like “Chou Kong Shan” and “Wild Fire” from Guo Wenjing, a Western-leaning Chinese composer often compared to Tan Dun.

Once, at the Golden Concert Hall in Vienna, she even took the stage with piano sensation Lang Lang, arguably today’s most well-known Chinese performer of Western classical music.

“Lang Lang is widely recognized for his great interpretations of Western pieces,” says Tang. “I felt even more successful, being a Chinese performer with a Chinese instrument but being listened to by a Western audience.”

Tang is also unorthodox in that when she performs, she is often accompanied by a Western symphony. For some traditionalists, the thought of combining the delicate beauty of the Chinese flute with a Western ensemble would be sacrilege.

Tang admits that her musical choices aren’t to everyone’s tastes. Yet her new-found fame has given her more room to experiment, as well as more space to enjoy music. As a performer, this freedom is invaluable.

“The world needs different flavors,” Tang says simply.

But while artists like Tang may be path-breakers in certain ways, they remain entrenched within the realm of classical music.

Other musicians though are taking much more radical turns, fusing ancient Chinese music with modern pop, rock and dance genres.

Up to listeners

One of the first groups to find success with this format was the Twelve Girls Band, an ensemble of female musicians who rose to fame in the early 2000s. Playing Chinese instruments, the group struck it big with their performances of classic Chinese tunes as well as renditions of pop songs from Coldplay and Enya.

Working along similar lines is 40-year-old pipa (a plucked string instrument) player Yu Bin. In 2003, Yu established Yue Zhi Yuan, a crossover act with pop leanings. All of its members are classically trained in traditional Chinese music.

As Yu explained, the market for traditional Chinese music has to expand and become more modern to attract younger audiences.

“How can you expect young people to be attracted to such unvarying performances when they are surrounded by IMAX cinemas and tablet computers?” he asks.

“Traditional Chinese musicians don’t have to be boring old guys in long gowns. We also listen to pop music, hit the bars, and we love adventure,” says Yu. “That’s who we are in life, and it can also be who we are on stage.”

In addition to Yu and his pipa, the band also features music from the dizi (bamboo flute), the suona (a woodwind instrument) and the Western keyboard. Sometimes Yu and his bandmates interpret Western songs with their traditional instruments, replacing a saxophone part with the suona or the guitar with pipa riffs.

As for critics of the cross-over genre, Yu says it’s up for audiences to decide the value of such works.

“I don’t want to debate whether fusion is good or not. As long as there is an audience that enjoys our music, that proves our efforts are worth it.”

Xi Qiang, president of China National Orchestra also dismissed the haters.

“Purists criticize our work as non-traditional. But really what is traditional Chinese music, in their view? Musicians sitting in arranged seats around the conductor?” he asked. “That is not the tradition of Chinese music, but something we’ve copied from the Western symphony orchestra since the 20th century.”

According to Xi, traditional Chinese music has historically been a multi-media art form, combining poetry, music and dance. In ancient times, it was free and unconventional, its only paradigm being that it delivered a message and corresponded to Chinese aesthetics.

Xi was much impressed by some old artists he encountered when collecting folk songs in remote areas of China. Some musicians told stories while playing the pipa and using their feet to add percussion.

“That is the source of our innovation,” says Xi, “We should not always frame ourselves within what we are used to, even if the old mode doesn’t work any more.”