Cho-Liang Chin in Hamilton and Auckland

Cho-Liang Lin says his Titian Stradivarius has a suave sound that carries effortlessly.

The Taiwanese-American violinist Cho-Liang Lin bursts into laughter when I list the distinguished violins he has been involved with and how they rate alongside the Titian Stradivarius he will play when he appears with the NZSO this week.

"So much of it is personal chemistry," Lin explains. "With top violins at this level it's like picking between a Porsche or a Ferrari. With a great violin you learn from it and it learns from you. It's kind of like getting to know a person.

"You adjust to the various qualities the instrument has to offer. The Titian has a suave, beautiful sound, and one that carries pretty effortlessly. There is also an aristocratic quality about it that's very appealing."

It would seem to be perfect for Friday night when Lin plays Leonard Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's Symposium.

Although Lin never worked with Bernstein, he observed the composer in rehearsal. "There was a single-mindedness and nothing was going to stop Bernstein getting what he wanted," he says. "By all accounts, though, he was not the best accompanist around. He had such a strong will and you probably had to butt heads with him."

Bernstein's Serenade is clearly a favourite. Lin recalls Bernstein putting down his baton after its soul-searching Adagio, saying it was his best work.

"You can dwell on the philosophical implications," Lin advises, "but on the other hand you don't have to know any of this to enjoy the piece."

Brahms' Concerto, on Saturday's bill for Auckland and featured tomorrow night in Hamilton, is "ever-provocative and endlessly interesting, even after numerous performances.

"Every time you play it there is so much to discover, if you're willing to dig deeper. You can approach it in so many ways - as a fantastic showpiece, as a work of love and affection for his great friend Joachim, or a work of symphonic proportions. They all work."

The son of a scientist who played the Chinese er-hu at home but who "definitely preferred his recordings of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky symphonies", Lin finds it hard to articulate the impact of his Chinese heritage.

"I have picked up so many traits from having been in Australia and the United States for the past 33 years that my thinking's probably more American, if there is such a thing.

"It has to do with world outlook. I was always immersed in Western culture from the beginning."

Yet he is enthusiastic about the new breed of Chinese composers, names like Chen Yi, Bright Sheng and Tan Dun, whose music he has recorded for the Ondine and BIS labels.

He says Tan Dun, whose opera, Tea: A Mirror of Soul, is headlining the New Zealand International Arts Festival next February, "has a mind squirrelling in 10 different directions.

"He is a very creative guy. Ideas are always swarming out of his head, some less formed than others but, my goodness, they are fantastic ideas."

It is obvious Lin still harbours disappointment with the treatment he got from Sony. "They have not been interested in doing anything adventurous for a long time now."

As well as contemporary projects with Ondine and BIS, his latest venture is Vivaldi concertos with Naxos, "an incredibly smart label doing things that major labels are not able to do".

He is excited after premiering Lalo Schifrin's Letters from Argentina at his latest La Jolla Summerfest in San Diego.

"I can't get enough tango music - it's some of the sexiest music ever written and the violin is such an important part of every tango band."

The good news for those who couldn't get to San Diego in August is that a recording is on the way. In the meantime, there is Bernstein and Brahms this weekend.

What: The NZSO with Cho-Liang Lin
Where and when: Hamilton, Founders Theatre, tomorrow 8pm; Auckland Town Hall, Fri 6.30pm, Sat 8pm