Liu Fang

Montreal resident Liu Fang can already look back on one of the richest careers an artist from the Far East has known. The 32-year-old has been captivating audiences and critics with her masterful playing of the pipa, a pear-shaped instruments she first picked up at the age of six. She has honed a wide-ranging repertoire which includes classical Chinese music known for its space and melody.

Fang gave her first public performance at the age of nine and performed as a pipa soloist in front of Queen Elizabeth II two years later. Her studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music broadened her musical range and allowed her to master the Chinese zither called the “guzheng”. Yet it is the four strings and 30 frets of the pipa that continues to be her favourite instrument.

At the age of 22 Fang emigrated to Canada. This decisive move allowed her virtuosic playing to reach a wide international audience. Dubbed by one newspaper “the empress of pipa”, she has an expressive way of interpreting the classical and folkloric repertoires of both the pipa and the guzheng. Fang has recorded almost a dozen albums, the latest of which, “The Sound of Silk”, is released by the Accords Croisés label.

This album features gripping exchanges with artists from three different continents. Yet, Fang is accustomed to daring collaborations working, for example, with the internationally renowned violinist Malcom Goldstein In 2001, she took the prestigious Future Generations Millenium Prize in Canada. The jury congratulated her with the following words: “She aspires to combine her knowledge and practice of eastern traditions with western classical music, contemporary music and improvisation, thereby creating new musical forms, uniting different cultures and discovering new audiences."

July 2006

Benjamin MiNiMuM

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