The 67-year-old musician from the United States was cellist with the renowned Emerson String Quartet from 1979 to 2013. He is also producer of Cello Talks, a series of mini internet lessons, and professor of cello at the Juilliard School in New York.

Wu, a 59-year-old pianist from Taiwan, said: "Each of us will take the art form as our responsibility to create an audience, groom young musicians, and do everything to preserve and celebrate the art form. The idea is that we should take the best musicians, who come from all over the world, to perform at the Lincoln Center.

"We make a foothold with great concert presentations, music releases and hopefully speak to conservatories that have the same interest in chamber music."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Finckel and Wu are renowned performers, music directors, educators and the "power couple of chamber music" in the US

By bringing the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Shanghai and other cities around the world, they aim to show "what is possible in programming, performance level and inspiration through teaching and through the different types of repertoire," the newspaper said.

Wu went to the US as a young musician. She played many solo concerts, and her teacher told her, "You are a good pianist, but you won't be a great musician without chamber music."

Wu said: "I didn't understand then, but now I do. Chamber music teaches you how to listen. When you are trained as a soloist, your teacher tells you what to do, but with chamber music, you have to understand not just your own part, but also all the other people's.