Wong Jum-sum loved music of all kinds, and had a particularly deep-seated passion for Western classical music.

In the 1950s, both Wong and classical music were finding their feet in Hong Kong society. The best they could do was to openly embrace the unknown.

To embrace the unknown, one needs support from all directions.

Thanks to Radio Hong Kong, Wong was able to listen to enticing music all day everyday, in that process learning to appreciate simultaneously the distinctive worlds of Shankar and Schubert.

Thanks to Leung Yat-chiu, he knew classical music held no special mystical aura. Whatever sounded good was good music.

Thanks to Wong Jum-sum himself, he learnt to read and absorb the principles and practices of making music, no matter whether they came from Bach or Beethoven.

Thanks to Hong Kong of the 1950s, he encountered a succession of visiting maestros, extending immensely his ideas about music and life.

Shankar: Raga Jog (1956) (excerpt)

Thanks to Radio Hong Kong English Channel, Wong Jum-sum was exposed to Indian music before George Harrison introduced sitar guru Ravi Shankar to the world.

In 1993, director Tsui Hark asked Wong to device an Indian-tinted music for the movie Green Snake. Wong scratched his head, wondering how Canto pop music can accommodate the decidedly different sound world of Indian music. He dug up his musical past, revived his acquaintance with Shankar and company, eventually creating music for the movie that compels one to sit up and listen with interest and awe.

Composer: Ravi Shankar

Performer: Ravi Shankar