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“…
a medium which fully communicates the magic of the music of Liu Fang, divine
mediator...” - World, No. 16, France, 2006 -
"If one devoted
themselves to the joys of statistics, "grace" and "poetry"
would undoubtedly be recurring words in critiques that mention Liu Fang's
art. "Touching", "dazzling" and "subtle" would
also figure well..." - Ouest
France, mardi, 1 août 2006.
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"Montreal resident Liu Fang can already look back on one of the richest careers an artist from the Far East has known. ... she has an expressive way of interpreting the classical and folkloric repertoires of both the pipa and the guzheng.... Yet, Fang is accustomed to daring collaborations ..." - Portrait of Liu Fang by Daniel Brown, Mondomix, France, 2006
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"... Liu Fang’s total devotion to her playing has moved her beyond perfect execution to the creativity and flexibility that marks a true musician. ... " - Andrew Cronshaw, fROOTS Magazine,UK, 2006.06
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"... Liu Fang's quintessentially Chinese philosophy. ... delicately calibrating the mood and colour changes. ..." - Songlines Magazine, UK, October 2006
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"... Superb sensitivity
and unrivaled dramaturgic feeling. ... By observing (her playing), one sees
the love that unites her with the music; one feels the unison which resounds
within her being and the instrument, and above all, one shares her deep
joy..." - Mondomix,
France, 2006.06
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“…
Lyrical themes are embellished with silences and majestic tonal nuances.
… the music of Chinese Liu Fang, virtuoso of the pipa, ..., seems
to emerge from the soul with thrilling and total clarity. ” - GEO
magazine (France), 2006.
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“…
Thus the “pipa”, which the young Chinese virtuoso Liu Fang
plays with an surreal grace, … and the zither “guzheng",
the other traditional instrument she plays, both emanate the same intangible
sensations, and the same subtleness of evocation. …” - Les
Inrockuptibles (Music magazine for World, Jazz, and Songs), France,
2006.
- "... delicate yet sensational, ... without any amplification, Liu Fang presented a concert of nearly two hours playing Chinese lute pipa and guzheng (a kind of zither) ... a fascinating experience. With Liu Fang, a great ambassadress of Chinese music has come..." - Ton Maas, de Volkskrant, Amsterdam, the Netherland, 29.03.2005.
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"... With the wind in her hair and eyes closed, Liu was the picture of composure and elegance. ...". - Graham Bond Critics, WOMAD 2004, Reading, UK, July 25, 2004.
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"Yes, there was just one musician, but ten talented fingers!". - Sir Ian McKellen at the BBC concert, November 7, 2003.
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"... Masterful, graceful and riveting, ..." BBC London, November 8, 2003.
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“Technique,
a mastery of the movements, and agility, her fingers moving at an incredible
speed. The audience was enchanted, captivated by this splendid sound.
While playing, Liu Fang becomes one with her instrument. … Liu Fang
is an exceptional musician; she represents the charm, the grace, and all
the magic of the East. She plays with such an ease that one forgets the
difficulties of her art and is transported into her world …. "
- Olonne-sur-Mer,
le journal Ouest-France, 11 decembre 2004.
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"The
ambassadress of charm … The listeners… were listening in a
religious silence inspired by this artist, who approaches interpretation
like a sacred act…One is literally transported in the serene exoticism
of the landscapes that emerge from music that is just as “figurative”
as the titles of the pieces would imply....With a winged grace and extreme
refinement,….Liu Fang draws out pure songs of subtle nuances from
her instrument. … " - VENDEE
MATIN, vendredi 30 avril 2004.
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“…
True ambassadress of the art of the pipa and Zheng, …” - La
Liberté de L'Est (Mirecourt, France, 2003)
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"Liu Fang is one of the most renown pipa players outside of China. ... She possesses virtuoso technique, grace and a unique empathy toward the music she plays -- whether it is a traditional folk tune or a modern Western composition. ..." - François Couture, All Music Guide, 2003.
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"...The
idea to intercalate between the movements of the "Song of the Earth"
of traditional Chinese music, an echo of the old Chinese poems that inspired
Mahler, could seem contrived. However, with due respect to the purists,
the result revealed itself to be so beautiful, so touching, that it appeared
to be perfectly obvious. The Liu Fang's stunning improvisations on the
lute pipa never interrupted the course of the work; on the contrary, they
enriched it: the contrast between the fullness of the orchestra and the
humble tone of the traditional instrument doesn't fail to evoke the painful
fragility of poems..." - Le Monde de la Musique,
No. 282 (France, 2003)
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“…an
evening of all grace, poetry, delight and delicacy. … Delicacy:
the word summarizes Liu Fang’s art. A delicacy in the smoothness
of her execution, employing the softness of the traditional melodies to
communicate inner emotion…. On the four strings of the pipa, a kind
of pear-shaped lute, her fingers run, fly, and dance. Her expression,
either open-eyed by the warlike drama or eyes closed by inner emotion,
accompanies the notes which pour out ambitiously. One does not need to
be an expert on Oriental history to appreciate this exceptional concert.
…” - Le Progres (France), 20 novembre 2003.
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“…her
music, performed here solo, makes us experience a range of emotions, from
naive amazement to warlike violence, from introspective meditation to
the floating dreaminess, from extreme delicacy to energetic impulse. The
emotion always flows masterfully. …” . - Yves Bernard, ICI
(Montréal), 2002.
- "... But there can
be no overlooking the spectacular instrumental closer that just burns down
the house. Liu Fang on pipa & Farhan Sabbagh on mazhar, an open framed
drum, take off on a supercharged dance blast called "Night of the Bonfire"
that will burn the soles straight off your shoes. ..."
by Barbara Flaska, PopMatters Music Editor,, 11 February 2004 .
- "... This glorious
music is represented here by many artists. Particularly touching is the
soft "The Night of Bonfire," performed on the pipa (picked dulcimer) by
Liu Fang, currently a resident of Canada. Performed with a wisp of percussion
by Farhan Sabbagh, the delicate song races forward to a breakneck tempo
by mid-song. Not bad for an artist in her 20s! ..."
Rough Guide to the Music of China, World Music Network, 2003
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- "MUSIC - The sound
of silence: Spaces between the notes matter to virtuoso Liu Fang. ...
'Behind every note, there is soul.' During her interview with The Gazette,
Liu proved the point most eloquently when she removed her plpa from her
case and began to play..." - BERNARD
PERUSSE, The Gazette (Montreal), Tuesday, March 26, 2002.
- "... a veritable feast
of alluring sounds, ranging from the eloquent and lyrical to the flamboyant
and percussive. The varied soundscape produced by one player and one instrument
is quite dazzling. Liu Fang’s masterly technique (e.g. tremolo, delicate
harmonics, lyrical tunes, and boisterous percussive effects), as well as
the music itself - which is based on short sections characterized by ever-changing
tempos and dynamics - all evoke an improvised and exciting quality. ...
"
- The Wholenote Magazine, April 3, 2003.
- "Liu Fang is a foremost
representative of the young generation of pipa soloists in combining the
taste for tradition with virtuosity, which enables her to exploit the potential
of her instrument as far as is humanly possible."
- Dr. Lucie Rault: Traditional Chinese Music, Actes Sud/Cité de la Musique, 2000, Paris, France.
(translated by Phil Stanway)
- "I think Liu Fang is
a fabulous musician. The first 7 tracks of "Soul of Pipa I" gave
me the feeling of youth and sweetness. The very classical style and the
composure with which she played those pieces certainly revealed her complete
control and confidence in the instrument. Those pieces brought peace and
quietness to the heart, and subsided anxiety, uneasiness with clarity and
serenity. This is not to say that there is a lack of passion in Liu Fang's
playing. However, her multidimensional virtuosity started to usher itself
with "Sunny Spring and white snow", a traditional, yet very challenging
ancient piece of work. The melodic flow of the music mantled the underlying
emotional energy that could lead to a wild eruption at any time. Liu Fang
shows off her mastering of Pipa and music with "The King Chu doffs
his Armour". It is hard to believe that such music could have come
from a girl of this young age. This musical, spiritual, and instrumental
encore sounds more like a downpour of mixed, yet contradictory moods. Liu
Fang is never lost or deluded by the music; instead, she leads, conducts,
and guides the music, as well as the audience, into a virtual world full
of colors and conflicts: aspiration vs. desperation, life vs. death, to
succumb vs. to resist. The intricacy is elaborately and fully interpreted
with impeccable technique. The intensive percussions almost produced smoke
out of the strings, while the slower passages echoed with hopelessness and
disappointment. ..." - Guitarscape.com
- "... To simply say
that Liu Fang plays the pipa would be like saying Casals played the cello
or Picasso could paint..." -
Dugg Simpson, artistic director, Vancouver Volk Music Festival,
July 2002
- "... The musicians
... and Liu Fang on pipa are all superb players. ... Liu Fang's lyrical
and military styles, exquisite in the speed and evenness of her finger rolls
(something like flamenco guitar, but infinitely more delicate), ... created
an unusual concert experience ..." - Stephen
Petersen, Arts reporter, The Chronicle-Herald, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada, Monday, July 8, 2002, Volume 54, No. 160.
- "... Liu Fang is without
question the greatest ambassadress of the art of the pipa in America and
Europe ..."
(Original french: Liu Fang est sans conteste la plus grande ambassadrice de l'art du pipa en Amérique et en Europe)
- Guy Marceau, La Presse(Montreal), Le mardi 26 mars 2002
- "The empress of
pipa - Montreal counts one of the greatest virtuosos of pipa,
Liu Fang. ..." -Pierre Cayouette, in
L'actualité, 15 décembre 2001, p90.
- "... She shift nimbly
from sparse passages that allow the pipa's sharp tones to blossom
and breathe, to blistering runs that, in their density, would make flamenco
masters weep ...", -Rupert
Bottenberg, Mirror, Montreal, March 21, 2002.
- "... The pipa entered
alone after a silence, with a pungent clash of chords, ... and made way
for an intimate music of real lyric beauty. ... Soloist Liu Fang played
with the intensity and timing of a great actor delivering a reflective monologue.
...", - Muisc where East meets West by Robert Everett-Green, The
Globe and Mail, Friday, March 8, 2002.
- "The pipa, the lute
emblematic of Chinese music but possibly of Persian origin, has now one
of its ablest interpreters in the person of Liu Fang. Having lived in Germany,
she is now at home in Canada and on passing through Paris will be offering
us an hour of pleasure. Lucie Rault, a researcher and sinologist at the
Musée de l'Homme, kindly drew our attention to this virtuoso, who in playing
becomes the very soul of her instrument and whose technical prowess has
listeners melt into the music. The lightness and pliancy of the notes draw
us into the compositions, transforming us into jasmine blossom or silver
trinkets tinkling outside a temple in the passing breeze..."
Presented by Caroline Bourgine
Radio France-Transmission on 10th September 2001
(translated by Phil Stanway)
- "Much has already
been said about Liu Fang's sublime musicality and the exquisite nimbleness
of her masterful fingers. What springs to mind foremost, however, is her
unusually intimate relationship with her first instrument, the pipa. She
seems to have arrived at a tacit understanding with the pipa so that the
music plays itself out from this union as does a pure drama project itself
through an actor -- so completely that the player is fully consumed by the
art. Liu Fang's music is indeed the soul of its drama, from the crescendos
that rise to great heights to the most delicately laced melodic notes. In
true affirmation of her power to be one with her instrument, Liu Fang enters
the world of the guzheng so very profoundly as to play her music as if emerging
from the earth itself."
- Gabriel Safdie, poet, philosopher (Montreal, QC, Canada)
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"...Liu Fang becomes one with her instrument, sometimes with a most
delicate grace, sometimes with a surprising power, evoking feelings of both
meditation and frenzy from the audience. The musician possesses an extraordinary
finger technique and dexterity which frequently astonished the public and
raised admiration from the listeners. If Samson's power lay in his hair,
that of Liu Fang is indisputably in her fingers!"
Critics - INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL Of QUEBEC
- "... The pipa
is a traditional Chinese string instrument, four-stringed, pear-shaped and
resembling a lute, although there is more space between the frets and fretboard
to allow the player to apply perpendicular pressure to the string for microtonal
effects, something typical of Far-Eastern string instruments. It gives it
that special Oriental “twang." Otherwise it sounds much like
a lute with something of the banjo's dryness and finger-picking technique
(but not that metallic). Liu chose her program from the authentic traditional
and “modern traditional" repertoires. The disc begins with Hua
Yan-jun's “The Great Wave Washes the Beach," one of the classic
pipa compositions of the 20th Century, a gracious, evocative tune. But the
highlights are found in Zhen Qi-ren's “Melody from a Bamboo House"
and Wei Zhong-le's “The Moon Is High." The first one is a contemporary
piece that, despite its respect for musical tradition, takes matters deeper
into complexity and originality. In Liu's interpretation we hear her complementary
interests in traditional and innovative musics. The second is at least a
millennium old and calls for wide amounts of virtuosity through its 13 minutes
of duration. The way the basic themes are ornamented seem to reflect the
structure of nature or -- as it would be called much later - fractal geometry,
producing endless fascination. Out of Liu's fingers ooze serenity, precision
and beauty. Highly recommended. - François Couture, All Music Guide.
- "Liu Fang is a remarkable
virtuoso of the pipa, a Chinese lute. She plays with a grace that captures
the soul of the Pipa possessing such profound presence that she becomes
one with the instrument. Amongst her many international concerts as a featured
classical soloist is a command performance for the Queen at the age of eleven.
With a consistent technical prowess and range of unimaginable dynamics,
she can take you from a visceral frenzy to a deep breath of silence that
cleanses the spirit. An extraordinary player as well, of the Guzheng, a
Chinese zither, Liu Fang mesmerizes you with her delicate fingers that appear
to prance, playing with an ease that is undoubtedly a result of years of
intense training and keen discipline. This artist continues to astound and
bewilder her public. Liu Fang's playing is an inspirational experience not
to be missed!"
- Janet Lumb, artistic director, Montreal Asian Heritage Festival.
- "What can be said
of Liu Fang's pipa and guzheng recital in Paris? A veritable feast for the
ears, eyes, heart and soul for the attentive, appreciative audience. With
such an accomplished musician, technical difficulties are forgotten to pass
effortlessly and serenely into a marvelous musical paradise....Liu Fang's
outstanding technique is married to her musicality. She performs master
pieces of the Chinese music with not only her fingers but also her heart
and graceful figure. She melts into the music.
She excels on the pipa but is also wonderful on the guzheng..."
Prof Dr Tran Van Khe, Honorary member of the International Music Council (UNESCO), Corresponding Member of the European Academy of the Sciences, Letters and Arts
- Liu Fang particularly
touched the audiences with her two solo pieces on the pipa, ...
Scraping and gripping the cords with her five fingers, the Montréalaise of Chinese origin produced effects that passes from air to frenzy. Particularly in the part "Ambush", describing the battle around 200 years before Jesus-Christ, she has astonished listeners with effects that seem to be invented in some modern pieces. Liu Fang’s performance of the traditional pieces may have even chocked some rock'n'roll guitarists by its force, rapidity and effects. The sound landscapes followed one another, making live the phases of confrontation until the last passage which could have been written by a composer of modern music.
PIERRE-PAUL NOREAU, Le Soleil, Arts and spectacles, DI 14 JULLIET 2000
- "The first time I saw
Fang perform, I was amazed at her discipline and her level of virtuosity
on the pipa and guzheng. ..."
- Dugg Simpson, Artistic director, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, 1999.
- "Liu
Fang's Passionate Pipa - Traditional Chinese Music is in Her Heart and Soul":
interview by Paula E. Kirman of the "Inside tWorld Music", June 24, 2001.
- "... of the Chinese
pipa of irreproachable Liu Fang (a virtuoso, nothing less)... " - Alain
Brunet, La Presse D8, Arts and spectacles, Thursday April
27 2000
- "... the pipa (kind
of lute) of the young Liu Fang, with the very expressive style... " - Nora
Ben Saadoune, The Press, Montreal, Wednesday April 7, 1999.
- "...Of an unequalled
brilliance and a musical quality, Liu Fang makes us pass by a frenzy which
enchants the spirit ..." - Pierre
Duquet
- "Liu Fang captures
the soul of the pipa, a Chinese lute, ... for her delicate and spirited
virtuosity."
- Armando M. Villapando, Asian Leader, April 1999.
- "... Liu Fang's playing
is notable for its well-articulated dynamics and inspiring lyricism..."
- Les classiques du Monde, Musique-Multi-Montréal, March 28, 1999.
- "... pipa princess
Liu Fang ..."
- by RUPERT BOTTENBERG, Montreal Mirror, 2000.04 ( www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2000/042000/music3.html )