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.

Schubert: Ave Maria (1954)

Wong Jum-sum's harmonica lessons covered a vast repertoire. In the workbooks, children songs and folk ballads alternated with movements from classical music. Schubert had a major presence in the lessons, because his music speaks all idioms.

Here we have Ave Maria, a tune from heaven if ever there is one. Enrico Mainardi, who visited Hong Kong in 1958, played the cello.

Composer: Franz Schubert

Performer: Enrico Mainardi (Cello)