Reviewed: Sept 8 and 9

Music has poor vision when it comes to age boundaries. These concerts were a celebration of Chinese talent in which young soloists squared up to Beethoven's piano concertos on easy and equal terms with older heads.

Aristo Sham Ching-toa, 11, strode on stage for Piano Concerto No 1 as though he owned the world and, given some aspects of his playing, he may well go on to do so. Extended passages in the first movement showed finesse and maturity beyond his years. Scope remains for increased physical strength and wider emotional grasp, but exciting things seem promised.

Having brought the orchestra's speed to what she wanted in the first movement, Wong Wai-yin, 14, gave a remarkable account of Concerto No2, adjusting moods and timbres with panache and infectious joy.

The solid technical skill of Rachel Cheung Wai-yin, 15, ensured a faultless rapport with the orchestra throughout Concerto No 3, a quality that will surely endear her to many a future conductor.

Chen Sa, born in 1979, impressed with her performance of Concerto No4. Orchestra and soloist fed off each other from start to finish, exploring many emotional levels, with Shen using her technique as the servant of countless subtleties. Brahms' substantial (and rarely heard) cadenzas complemented the symphonic thrust of the orchestral interplay achieved by conductor Edo de Waart.

Also in his late 20s, Sun Yingdi exuded confidence in Concerto No5, but he needs to revisit the sounds he makes to discover more of the work's refinement. His brilliant encore (an arrangement of Strauss' Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka) suggested that it should be well within his grasp.