Music Talks

Our guest today is Zhu Wenjing, a pipa instrumentalist and also a movie lover. For those who're not familiar with the instrument, the pipa is the well-known four-stringed Chinese lute that's shaped like a pear. Zhu has been teaching the pipa for quite some time. Recently, she's also been active as a content creator, covering a number of notable movie soundtracks.

For those who are thinking of picking up a traditional Chinese instrument, the guqin may not always be considered first. Actually, the guqin is one of the oldest plucked instruments in China that dates back over 3,000 years. In recent years, a group of young Chinese has been dedicated to bringing the ancient instrument to a wider audience. In this episode, Zhu Liyue, head of the Zi De Guqin Studio joins our show and shares a variety of their music productions.

Wearing traditional Chinese clothing with a face veil and sitting in front of the ancient Chinese zither, Peng Jingxuan is surrounded by a number of bystanders as she plucks the strings on the street of France. Aside from being an international student currently studying in Lyon, the 27-year-old guzheng player is also a fast-growing online influencer. In this episode, we get up close with Peng as she shares her live street music, as well as her story of bringing the traditional Chinese instrument to a foreign country.

Fei Wai is a male band based in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Unlike rock or pop bands that usually involve instruments like the guitar and drums, this group consists of three signature traditional Chinese instruments, namely the bamboo flute, the pipa, or the four-stringed lute, and the erhu, the two-stringed fiddle. The three Gen Zers have been covering pop songs since 2020, and their videos are starting to gain influence on the internet. In this episode, flutist Zhu Yongjie joins us and shares the story of the trio.

To present ancient Chinese wisdom of 24 Solar Terms through musical expression, composer Yang Qing wrote an orchestral suite titled “Life Rhythms.” As we embrace the season of renewal, Yang brings to us a few works from the orchestral suite to introduce the melodies of spring.

The Spring Festival holiday reaches its climax with the Lantern Festival, which falls on February 5 this year. It is widely celebrated with lantern shows, riddles, and glutinous rice ball treats. In this episode, Liu Jidong, director of the Beijing Mountain and Water Orchestra, brings us several pieces of uplifting music to mark the final carnival of the Spring Festival. He also shares the story of the ensemble which is composed primarily of physically challenged musicians.

The Chinese New Year welcomes the arrival of the upcoming year. Although the seven-day holiday is reaching its end, we hope to keep the excitement going for our listeners. Our guest on the show is Chen Libao, a Chinese horn instrumentalist with the China National Traditional Orchestra, who has made a commitment to rearranging the Chinese classics by blending Western musical styles, yet somehow he is able to retain the uniqueness and character of the instrument. Today, the artist brings us several upbeat horn pieces to boost the festive atmosphere.

January 22 marks the Spring Festival, the most important traditional occasion for Chinese people. It's a time of merriment, family reunions and a fresh start. In this episode, Dai Yin, head of the Nanjing Traditional Chinese Orchestra, joins us and shares a few works to get you into the festive spirit.

After China optimizing its anti-Covid-19 measures in late December, the nation has gradually returned to normal routines, including professional musicians. He Xie is a composer and a Chinese harp instrumentalist who's been planning his concert since April of last year. However, it was put on hold twice due to the pandemic. Thanks to the recent changes of Covid restrictions, the composer is now able to return to the stage and has scheduled his gig in the first half of this year. In this episode, the 33-year-old composer joins us to give his insight of the concert and the many ways he finds inspiration.

We'll introduce a couple of modern Erhu works with a storytelling vibe that'll seamlessly get you into the musical zone. If you're a long time listener to our show, you probably recognize that the instrument is a member of the bowed-string family, notable for depicting intricate emotional expressions and closely resembling a human's voice. Today, our guest on the show is Erhu instrumentalist Li Feng, with the Central Broadcasting Traditional Instruments Orchestra. Her latest works are pioneer innovations of fusing music from the East and West, combining waltz, pop, and electronic music with the classics.