The New York Philharmonic plays under the baton of Gilbert.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Some composers you can relate to more easily, like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Mozart and Schubert," he says.

Even for the audience, the melody is often the best way to understand the music, he says.

Bronfman jokes that he was "very jealous" of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, because there were lots of female members in the audience for his concerts.

The pianist went on to compare appreciation for music to wine tasting. It doesn't come right away, he says, "maybe it is a question of growing up and maturing - have your ears evolve."

Through the past decades, Bronfman has met with many musicians from China, from Liu Shikun, to younger artists, such as Lang Lang and Yuja Wang.

"They were already great musicians when they landed in the US," he says.

"They must have (had) great teachers in China to teach them."

He declined to give advice to aspiring musicians in the country, although he did share his experience collaborating with conductors universally.

"Don't be polite," says the pianist. "Always speak your mind and express your opinion, and the conductor has to do the same."

That way one can get to the bottom of the music, he adds.

This year's Music in the Summer Air festival will go on for two weeks, comprising 25 concerts that will be held at the Shanghai Concert Hall.

The highlights include a joint concert by the New York Philharmonic and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Friday; Christian Blackshaw playing the complete collection of Mozart's sonatas from Monday to July 13; and Song of Everlasting Sorrow, featuring Chinese bass singer Shen Yang on Sunday.

You can visit misa.org.cn for more details of the festival.