Chinese erhu master Jiang Jianhua, who led the erhu performance in the soundtracks of Bernardo Bertolucci’s historical epic “The Last Emperor” (1987), will collaborate with Chinese pipa player Yang Baoyuan and pianist Li Dawei to present a night of Chinese folk songs and a few easy-listening Western pieces such as Monti’s “Csardas,” Schubert’s “Ave Maria” and Kreisler’s “Love’s Joy.”
Of course, Jiang will perform “The Last Emperor,” composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
In 1978, at a concert given by students of China’s Central Conservatory of Music in Japan, Jiang played the Japanese piece “Sakura,” which impressed famous Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa. Jiang then appeared in a documentary featuring Ozawa’s visit to China filmed by NHK and was also praised by Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan when he visited China in 1979.
Jiang has taught erhu performance at the Takasaki Art College in Japan and collaborated with Ozawa many times, which caught the attention of Sakamoto. The composer then invited her to lead the erhu performance in the soundtracks of “The Last Emperor.” The soundtrack album won the Best Original Score award at the 1988 Academy Awards.
“The erhu is an instrument with its own history but sometimes needs to make room for innovations,” Jiang said in an earlier interview.
Jiang is now a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 18
Tickets: 80-380 yuan
Booking: WeChat account “GuangmingArtCenter”
Venue: Guangming Culture and Art Center, Guangming District (光明區(qū)光明文化藝術(shù)中心)
Metro: Line 6 to Fenghuang Town Station (鳳凰城站), Exit B