The world’s premier pipa virtuoso and Grammy Award-nominated musician Wu Man leads a new concert exploring the rich musical traditions of China and Central Asia, created specifically for Singapore.
A soloist, educator and composer, Wu Man is seen by today’s most prominent composers as an outstanding exponent of the traditional repertoire as well as a leading interpreter of contemporary pipa music. Her adventurous spirit and virtuosity has led to cross-cultural collaborations in different artistic disciplines, allowing her to reach wider audiences. She has more than 40 albums to her name, including the Grammy-nominated recordings “Our World in Song”, “Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago”, her recording of Tan Dun’s “Pipa Concerto” with Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists, and “You’ve Stolen My Heart” featuring the Kronos Quartet.
Wu Man brings together two ancient cultures in a concert exploring cultural links between Chinese and Central Asian traditions that date back more than 2,000 years. In her search to understand the roots of her instrument, Wu Man travelled to Central Asia and worked with musicians of the Uyghur tradition, culminating in a brilliant evening of this old-world music in a contemporary setting.
Borderlands features masters of Uyghur music playing indigenous instruments from the Xinjiang region. Among them is Sanubar Tursun, one of Central Asia’s finest singers today and a star performer regarded by many as a symbol of the Uyghur people. With Wu Man’s deft performance of the pipa, Tursun’s delicate playing on the dutar (a Central Asian long-necked lute), and the hypnotic sounds of Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam* melodies, Borderlands is an extraordinary musical experience not to be missed.
*The Uyghur Muqam is the opera of Central Asia that is derived from a cross blend of Chinese, Turkic and Arabic influences, with dance tunes, instrumental sections, sung poetry and stories reflecting Uyghur history and contemporary society.
Commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA).
Rating TBC
Dates and Time: 15, 16, 17 September, 8pm
Venue: SOTA Studio Theatre
Duration: 1h20, no intermission
Tickets:
$40
20% discount for students, NSFs and seniors.
