“Playing the Strauss in Hong Kong was a historical event,” he said. The lack of expected appearances “feels exactly what it is, which is being rejected by your own people.” Wang suspected that the Chinese presenters of the Philharmonic did not see him as a soloist attractive to local audiences, compared to Westerners.

-Liang Wang

I would have thought that the New York Philharmonic would be in charge of what gets played when in China, but is this article implying otherwise? It appears so. And yet later we read this:

Qian Shijin, the artistic director of the Shanghai Grand Theater, where the concerts took place this week, said the New York Philharmonic presented several program options, but that he did not recall any of them including Wang. “The two programs have been decided by the New York Philharmonic,” he said in an interview. “So we have to accept that.” The only changes he asked for were the inclusion of overtures at the beginning to accommodate latecomers, a problem with Chinese audiences, he said.

I wonder where the truth lies.

“Truth lies” … hmmm … I don’t know ….