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Press release

Traditional Chinese instruments Pipa and Guzheng will be honored at a series of 5 concerts of Chinese traditional music interpreted by the internationally acclaimed virtuso Liu Fang in USA and Canada from November 13 t0 22, 2008. Master pieces from the Tang Dynasty (619-907 after J.-C.) to the recent times will be performed on the lute pipa and on the zither guzheng, an occasion to discover the richness of sound, poetic charm and descriptive capacity of the repertory for both instruments that this young master interpreter brings you.

In the program, there are classical pipa and guzheng solo pieces from the traditional repertoire, such as "The wild gees descending on sandy beach", "The King Chu doffs his Armour", "Guang Ling Fantasia", "The ambush from ten sides", "The song from the other side of the border" , "Autumn moon in the Palace of Han", as well as classical compositions since early 1930s such as "On the theme of an air to dance" (Liu Tianhua, 1895-1932), "Dance of Yi People" (Wang Hui-Ran), "Spring Rain" (Zhu Yi and Wen Bo), "New variation of Tang Dynasty Liuyao-dance" (Yang Jieming), "Chanting of Tiema" (Zhao Densan), and "The red river" (Zheng Qingrong).

Chinese Classical music often has thematic, poetic or philosophical classifications and is typically played solo, such as on the guqin, a 7-string zither, with over 3000 years of history, or the pipa, a lute with over 2000 years of history. The instruments demand not only a mastery of technique but a high degree of sensitivity to evoke the subtle sonorities and deep emotional expressions that rely on the left hand techniques (through, for instance, sliding, bending, pushing or crossing of the strings to produce typical singing effects and an extreme dynamical ranges), and where synchronized ensemble playing is virtually impossible. Celebrated as being "the empress of pipa” (L'Actualité, 2001) and “divine mediator" (the French World magazine, 2006), Liu Fang transmits in an expressive and graceful way the beauty of the ancient music, while drawing out the subtle sonorities of the pipa and the guzheng. Through the power and sensitivity of her play, she has given a renewed interpretation of the ancient repertory, of the poetic as well as the martial styles. The growing admiration from listeners, experts and novices alike attest to the respect paid to this highly talented musician.

Liu Fang was born in Kunming, in the province of Yunnan. She began studying the pipa at the early age of six and gave her first public performance as a pipa soloist when she was nine. Honoured with several provincial and national prizes, Liu Fang graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she also studied the guzheng, a Chinese zither. Since moving to Canada in 1996, Liu Fang has built a remarkable artistic profile by captivating audiences and critics with the richness and grace of her playing as well as her wide ranging repertoire, having given concerts all over the world and performing solo recitals at prestigious venues and festivals such as the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, the Philharmonic Hall of Liège, Belgium (2006), BBC concerts in London (2003, 2007), the Bath International Music Festival (2004) and the York Early Music Center (2008) and the WOMAD Festival in the UK.

Liu Fang has made frequent television and radio appearances, premiered new compositions and performed with renowned orchestras, string quartets and collaborated master musicians from various traditions. In June 2001, Liu Fang received the prestigious New Millenium Prize awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts to an interpreter representing the future generation of the musical art, and in 2006, she received the prestigious French Académie Charles-Cros Award (equivalent to the Grammy or Juno) for the album, Le son de soie (Accords Croisées). She has in her discography 9 solo and collaboration recordings since her arrival in Canada in 1996.

“… a medium which fully communicates the magic of the music of Liu Fang, divine mediator...” – World magazine, No. 16, France, 2006

“… 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.

"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, Music of the Chinese Tradition,
Sud/Cité Acts of the Music, 2000, Paris, France.

- photos available for downloading: http://www.liufangmusic.net/English/presskits.html#photos

- sample video online: http://www.philmultic.com/liufang/video/

- sample music online: http://www.myspace.com/liufang

- Press quotes: http://www.liufangmusic.net/pressreviews/

"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 Fang'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 Fang's fingers ooze serenity, precision and beauty. Highly recommended." ~ François Couture, All Music Guide

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