I first encountered "Butterfly Lovers" on an old Everest LP called
"Chinese Classical Masterpieces" (Everest 3212).  It is a lovely romantic
violin concerto with a full European-style orchestra.  The performers are
identified as violinist Shen Yung, conductor Fan Cheng-Wu, and the Chinese
Conservatory Orchestra.  There is no biographical information on these
performers, nor is there any hint as to the location of the orchestra.
On the radio I once heard an elaborate program for it (preceding a
presentation of the recording on Marco Polo), yet even without the
program the music is quite enjoyable.  I'd say go for it.

The coupling on this album is with a concerto called "Youth" for piano
(or should I say "tin harp"?) and an orchestra of traditional Chinese
instruments.  Some times it strikes me as a hoot and sometimes as a
pleasant excursion into sentimental (not always a bad word) crossover
music.

Aaron J. Rabushka
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