A concert devoted to the rarely heard Chinese double-reed instrument guanzi took place on December 18 at the Opera Hall of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, bringing together performance, education, and innovation around one of China’s most marginalised traditional wind instruments.

Titled Home in the Heart, the concert featured renowned guanzi performer and educator Han Lei alongside his students, with the Central Conservatory Chinese Orchestra conducted by Ma Shuai.

The event marked Han Lei’s fourth guanzi-themed concert in China in recent years, following earlier appearances in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the Peking University. Despite its long history, the guanzi remains a niche instrument even within professional Chinese music circles, with only a handful of conservatories offering dedicated programmes. Han Lei, currently the guanzi professor at the Central Conservatory, has made it a personal mission to expand the instrument’s repertoire, visibility, and technical possibilities.

The programme was divided between chamber and large-scale works. One half focused on guanzi solo and chamber music repertoire, performed by Han Lei and four of his students using soprano, alto, bass, and contrabass instruments to achieve full register coverage. The second half centred on orchestral concerto works, some of which were newly commissioned or newly arranged and received either world or Beijing premieres.

Among the highlights was Home in the Heart by Malaysian composer Kong Su Leong, inspired by Chinese folk melodies and shaped through a blend of Western harmonic thinking and Eastern melodic sensibility. Another work, Bright Moon over the Sea, evoked the emotional world of overseas Chinese communities and was singled out for its narrative depth and expressive scope.

Several musicians and administrators attending the concert commented on both the artistic quality and the broader significance of the event.

Composer Liu Changyuan noted that the guanzi’s distinctive, penetrating timbre makes it one of the most representative wind instruments of northern China, but stressed that its future depends on sustained collaboration between composers and performers. “Only original works can give new meaning to the instrument,” he said, pointing out that innovation inevitably brings new playing techniques and modes of expression.

Others were struck by the calibre of the performers, particularly the younger students. Observers highlighted the appearance of guanzi players ranging from middle-school age to undergraduate level, seeing this as tangible evidence of a new generation emerging despite the instrument’s limited institutional presence.

Wu Xuhai, head of the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, described the concert as both artistically rigorous and socially meaningful, noting that its academic standards were matched by a clear vision for cultural transmission.

They also emphasised Han Lei’s role not only as a performer but as an innovator and educator. His work on instrument modification, expanded tonal capabilities, and flexible transposition systems was cited as crucial in allowing the guanzi to move beyond its traditional association with sombre or plaintive moods.

The concert was widely viewed as a statement of intent: to reposition guanzi within contemporary Chinese music through new repertoire, strong pedagogy, and sustained public exposure. As several members of the audience concluded, only through high-quality works, committed performers, and continued advocacy can this ancient instrument find a secure place in China’s musical future.

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