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An Interview with Liu Fang Part 1 Liu Fang is an international music star, famous for her work with traditional Chinese instruments. She was born in 1974 and has played the pipa since the age of six. She’s given concerts since she was eleven, including a performance for the Queen of England during her visit to China. She graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she also studied the guzheng in 1993. What is your musical training and background? My mother is a Dianju actress. Dianju is a kind of Chinese opera, which includes singing, dancing and acting. When I was a child, she took me to performances. I listened to music before I could speak! When I was five years old, she taught me to play the yueqin. In 1990, when I was 15 years old, I went to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where I studied the pipa and the guzheng. After I graduated, I went back to my hometown of Kunming and worked as a pipa soloist of the Kunming Music and Dance Troupe. In 1996, I moved to Canada with my husband and I have been living there since then. What are the biggest challenges of playing the pipa and the guzheng? If your technique is not good enough, it is impossible to play classical Chinese pipa music. Also, the repertoire for the pipa is large – some pieces were written during the Tang Dynasty. There are many different pipa schools, and each one has its special way of interpreting the classical pieces. The biggest challenge is to respect the traditions but to add my own style. The same is true of my second instrument, the guzheng. Part 2 Who or what are your musical influences? The main influence is traditional singing. I listened to traditional opera singing and folk songs in my childhood. Now when I am playing a tune, I am singing in my heart. When I’m playing a sad tune, I am crying in my heart. Listeners often say that they can hear singing in my music. What characteristics of Chinese classical music do you try to show in your playing? Firstly, Chinese music is similar to the Chinese language. In Chinese, the same pronunciation with different tones has different meanings. The same is true for music. Secondly, classical Chinese music is closely connected to Chinese poetry, so it isn’t surprising that most classical pieces have very poetic titles. Thirdly, classical Chinese music and traditional Chinese painting are like twin sisters. In Chinese art there are some empty spaces, which are very important. They give life to the whole painting and they allow people to come into the picture, like a dialogue. It’s the same with classical Chinese music. There are empty spaces, and people say the silence is full of music. The pipa sounds and the pauses combine to make a poetry of sound. Listeners can experience the power and the beauty of the music, like enjoying a beautiful poem or painting. Part3 What do you like best about performing live? I enjoy playing and I enjoy performing in public. I like the atmosphere in a concert hall and I always feel happy when I have a concert. I feel a little depressed or lonely when there is no concert for a long time. I also enjoy the time immediately after the concert to share the feelings and ideas with friends and music lovers, listening to their impressions and understanding about the music. I love my career. I also enjoy traveling: I enjoy sitting in a plane dreaming, or staying a hotel. What are your goals as an artist? I don’t have a particular goal. But I hope to work with many composers, and I also wish to compose my own music. My background is traditional Chinese music. Since I moved to Canada, I have had opportunities to make contact with other musical traditions and play with master musicians. I wish to continue working with master musicians from other traditions and to be able to compose my own music, using elements from different cultures. I also wish to introduce classical Chinese pipa and guzheng music to every corner of the world. 刘芳专访 第一部分 刘芳是一位国际知名的音乐家，以及演奏中国传统乐器见长。她出生于1974年，从6岁起就开始演奏琵琶。11岁起她就开始举办音乐会，包括英国女王访华期间为女王举行的一场演出。她毕业于上海音乐学院，1993年她还在那里学习弹奏古筝。 请您谈谈您在音乐方面的训练情况及背景，好吗? 我母亲是一名滇剧演员。滇剧是一种中国戏剧，里面有声乐、舞蹈及表演。我小的时候，母亲就带我去看节目。在会说话前，我就听了音乐！我5岁那年，她教我弹钢琴。 1990年，我15岁的时候去了上海音乐学院。在那里，我学习琵琶和古筝。毕业后，我回到故乡昆明。并在昆明劲舞团做了琵琶独奏演员。1995年，我和丈夫移居加拿大。直到现在。 弹奏琵琶和古筝的最大挑战是什么？ 如果你的技术不够娴熟，就不可能弹好中国古典琵琶曲。另外，琵琶弹奏的曲目很多——一些作品甚至作于唐代。 琵琶流派很多，每个流派都有自己独特的诠释古典作品的方式。最大的挑战是尊重传统并融入自己的风格。对于我的第二乐器——古筝，情况也是如此。 第二部分 请您谈谈那些人或是对您在音乐方面产生了影响，好吗？ 最主要的影响是传统的演唱。我在年幼时就听传统的演唱和民歌。现在每当我演奏一支曲子时，我就会在心中吟唱。当我演奏哀伤的曲子时，我内心也在哭泣。听众常说能在我的乐曲中听到歌声。 您在演奏中想展示中国古典音乐的什么特征？ 首先，中国的音乐跟汉语很相似，在汉语中，读音相同音调不同，意义就不同，音乐也是如此。其次，中国古典音乐与中国诗歌关系很密切，因此很多古典音乐作品都有着很诗意的标题就一点也不奇怪了。再次，中国古典音乐与国画像孪生姐妹。在中国美术中，留有些空白，这些空白非常重要。它们给整幅图画带来生机，也使得观众融入图画，就像与图画进行对话。 中国古典音乐也是一样。乐曲中有停顿，人们认为这种停顿静谧之中充满了音乐。琵琶的声音和乐曲中的停顿结合在一起，给声音赋予了诗的意境。听众可以自己感受音乐的力量、音乐的美,就像享受一首美妙的诗歌或一幅美丽的图画一样。 第三部分 关于演出的生活最让你感到愉悦的是什么？ 我喜欢弹琴，也喜欢当众演奏。我喜欢音乐厅中的氛围。每当我举行音乐会的时候，我总会感到很愉快。很长一段时间没有音乐会时，我会感到有点情绪低落或者孤独。我还喜欢音乐会后立即和朋友及音乐爱好者分享感受，交流看法，听他们谈对我的音乐的印象和理解。我热爱我的事业，我也喜欢旅游；我喜欢坐在飞机上幻想，或者呆在旅馆里。 作为一个艺术家，您的目标是什么？ 我没有特定的目标。但我希望我能和很多作曲家公事，同时我还希望创作我自己的音乐。我的音乐底蕴是中国传统音乐。自从移居加拿大，我就有机会接触到其他音乐传统并跟一些音乐大师进行交流。我希望我能继续跟来自其它传统的音乐大师合作，并吸取不同文化的元素，创作自己的音乐。我也希望能使中国传统器乐琵琶和古筝传遍世界的每个角落。 |
