Shi Wanchun's Festival Overture was performed in 1960. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"It's difficult for us to collect all the old scores. Some are from the late composers' families and others are kept in the conservatories. When we found these old scores, we found many handwritten notes missing over time and some we realized that had never been played before based on our technical deductions.

"Now that they have been found, it's urgent to let today's people hear that music."

Tan Lihua will conduct the Beijing Symphony Orchestra to play works by Ma Sicong, Wang Xilin and Chen Qigang on April 24.

He says: "China now has more than 70 orchestras, and every year one or two new ones are established. In previous years, most of them have performed at the NCPA's Symphonic Spring. But the quantity of orchestras cannot prove the quality of the classical music. The compositions and composers are more important."

He says talented youth graduate one after the other, but most of the aspiring composers don't get a chance to have their works played. Orchestras all perform known composers' works, especially Western ones. Chinese composers need exposure.

"The NCPA has taken the initiative to do the job of commemorating our predecessor composers, and we orchestras will also play our parts to continue the mission," says Tan.