Biography
Liu Fang ranks among the foremost interpreters of the pipa, the traditional Chinese lute, beyond her native country. She has lived in Montreal since 1996 and has appeared in recital across North and South America, throughout Europe, and across East Asia. Her playing combines technical brilliance, elegance of phrasing, and an uncommon sensitivity to whatever repertoire she addresses, whether an ancient regional melody or a contemporary score from the West. Over the years she has committed the core Chinese pipa literature to disc, collaborated on new pieces by composers Tan Dun and Zhou Long, and given the first performances of works written expressly for the instrument by R. Murray Schafer and Melissa Hui.
Born in 1974 into an artistic household, she displayed extraordinary talent from an early age. Her mother, a stage actress, regularly brought the child to rehearsals; at six Liu Fang began intensive study of the large and demanding pipa. She made her concert debut at nine and soon collected prizes in provincial contests. In 1985, when she was eleven, she played before the Queen of England; three years afterward she captured first place in the National Competition for Young Musicians. At fifteen she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she pursued studies of both the pipa and the guzheng, a traditional Chinese zither, for the next three years. After completing the program she returned to her native Kunming and joined the municipal music-and-dance ensemble.
Although the Chinese authorities have long endorsed traditional music, the genre is frequently treated as mere decorative background rather than a living art. Liu Fang sensed she might reach international audiences on a more profound plane than many of her colleagues at home. Following a 1995 engagement in Germany with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, she and her husband relocated to Canada and established themselves in Montreal. She quickly forged connections within the city’s Chinese community and resumed public performance. Erhu specialist Lei Qiang introduced her to Paul Etch, proprietor of the label Oliver Sudden Productions, which issued her debut recording, Chinese Traditional Pipa Music, in 1997. In 1999 her husband resigned his post as a meteorologist to oversee her expanding schedule. Since settling in Canada she has enjoyed consistent institutional backing; national broadcasters have captured numerous of her concerts. In 2001 she received the Future Generations Millennium Prize, a singular governmental award presented that year to one artist each in music, literature, and the visual arts. February 2000 brought a tour with Kohei Nishikawa’s ensemble, and in September 2001 she introduced R. Murray Schafer’s “The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix.” Additional collaborations have included appearances with the Nouvel Ensemble Modern and the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec.
Born in 1974 into an artistic household, she displayed extraordinary talent from an early age. Her mother, a stage actress, regularly brought the child to rehearsals; at six Liu Fang began intensive study of the large and demanding pipa. She made her concert debut at nine and soon collected prizes in provincial contests. In 1985, when she was eleven, she played before the Queen of England; three years afterward she captured first place in the National Competition for Young Musicians. At fifteen she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she pursued studies of both the pipa and the guzheng, a traditional Chinese zither, for the next three years. After completing the program she returned to her native Kunming and joined the municipal music-and-dance ensemble.
Although the Chinese authorities have long endorsed traditional music, the genre is frequently treated as mere decorative background rather than a living art. Liu Fang sensed she might reach international audiences on a more profound plane than many of her colleagues at home. Following a 1995 engagement in Germany with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, she and her husband relocated to Canada and established themselves in Montreal. She quickly forged connections within the city’s Chinese community and resumed public performance. Erhu specialist Lei Qiang introduced her to Paul Etch, proprietor of the label Oliver Sudden Productions, which issued her debut recording, Chinese Traditional Pipa Music, in 1997. In 1999 her husband resigned his post as a meteorologist to oversee her expanding schedule. Since settling in Canada she has enjoyed consistent institutional backing; national broadcasters have captured numerous of her concerts. In 2001 she received the Future Generations Millennium Prize, a singular governmental award presented that year to one artist each in music, literature, and the visual arts. February 2000 brought a tour with Kohei Nishikawa’s ensemble, and in September 2001 she introduced R. Murray Schafer’s “The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix.” Additional collaborations have included appearances with the Nouvel Ensemble Modern and the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec.
Albums
Singles
