WU MAN NAMED 2013 INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
2 years ago
The Chinese pipa virtuoso plays two exclusive performances in
Auckland Arts Festival 2013
WU MAN AND THE KRONOS QUARTET
Saturday 9 March, 2013
The Civic, Auckland
WU MAN SOLO PERFORMANCE
Sunday 10 March, 2013
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
Wu Man is the very model of a modern soloist. More importantly, her
work is part of a big step in the evolution of Western classical
music. The best measure of her achievement is that her instrument,
the pipa - a Chinese lute that dates back some 2,000 years - is no
longer an exotic curiosity. Symphony audiences have heard her
perform concertos by Lou Harrison and Tan Dun. She performs
regularly with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the Kronos
Quartet, as a soloist in Bang on a Can marathons, and in chamber
groups and orchestras giving the premieres of works by Terry Riley,
Philip Glass, Chen Yi, and Bright Sheng, who have written pipa
parts into their works with her sound and dexterity in mind. -
Musical America
Wu Man, the intrepid pipa player, Grammy Award winner and one-woman
force of nature who is coming to Auckland Arts Festival 2013, has
been named Musical America's 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year. Wu
Man is performing in two special events at Auckland Arts Festival
2013 - A Chinese Home and Ghost Opera with the renowned Kronos
Quartet on Saturday 9 March, and a solo performance on Sunday 10
March. Tickets are on sale now through THE EDGE.
Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director, Carla van Zon, said, "We
are absolutely delighted Wu Man has been honoured by Musical
America, one of the world's leading music publications. She's
highly talented, fearless and thrilling to watch. On top of that,
she plays an instrument many people have never heard of in a
completely modern way, leaving audiences buzzing."
With her Chinese lute, which she traverses with the mastery of
Hendrix on a guitar, and a repertoire that ranges from bluegrass to
Beijing opera, Wu Man has spent the last 20 years seeking out ways
to introduce the pipa and Chinese musical culture to audiences in
the West. Her many projects and collaborations aim to unite the
pipa with a variety of western instruments and art forms,
presenting the instrument to audiences in a way they can understand
and enjoy in an accessible context. Wu Man has been cited by the
Los Angeles Times as "the artist most responsible for bringing the
pipa to the Western World."
In her Auckland Arts Festival 2013 solo performance Wu Man will
perform selections from her 2010 recording Immeasurable Light and
her most recent album, released in 2012, Borderlands: Wu Man and
Master Musicians from the Silk Route. This one-off recital will
trace Wu Man's deeply personal journey into how the pipa's story
has shaped her own. Following her solo performance, Wu Man will
host a free post-show talk in the Auckland Town Hall Concert
Chamber.
Then, for one night only at The Civic, Wu Man and the
world-renowned Kronos Quartet will travel into new musical
territory with two momentous works, A Chinese Home and Ghost
Opera.
A Chinese Home is an edgy performance for string quartet and pipa
that was conceived by Wu Man, Kronos' David Harrington and leading
theatre director Chen Shi-Zheng (Dark Matter, The Peony Pavilion,
Monkey: Journey to the West). Tracking a history of 100 years of
Chinese music history from traditional China, to the
western-influenced Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s, through the
Cultural Revolution and into today, this exciting musical journey
comes to life both on the stage and screen.
The other-worldly Ghost Opera, the second installation in the
Kronos Quartet and Wu Man performance, incorporates Chinese,
American, Tibetan, and English cultures, played on violin, viola,
cello and pipa as well as water, metal, stone and paper. Also
utilising innovative projections, Bach and Shakespeare are fused
with Chinese shadow puppetry and ancient folklore. Ghost Opera was
composed by Tan Dun, whose prolific career includes an Academy
Award for his soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon.
Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man has performed with major orchestras
around the world, and collaborated with some of the world's leading
composers, including Philip Glass, Tan Dun and Terry Riley, and
performers the Silk Road Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma and, of course, the
Kronos Quartet.
www.aaf.co.nz
Wu Man is one of the rare musicians who has changed the history of
the instrument she plays. - Boston Globe
CONCERT DETAILS
Show Kronos Quartet and Wu Man
Where The Civic, Auckland
When Saturday 9 March, 8pm
Duration 2hr with interval
Post-concert talk Saturday 9 March
Price Premium $87 / Friend/Conc/Group $81
A Res $77 / Friend/Conc/Group $72
B Res $67 / Friend/Conc/Group $62
C Res $45
Bookings Book at THE EDGE: www.buytickets.co.nz / 09
357 3355 / 0800 289 842
Group bookings: groups@the-edge.co.nz / 09 357 3354
Show Wu Man: Solo Recital
Where Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
When Sunday 10 March, 5pm
Duration 1 hr no interval
Post-concert talk Sunday 10 March
Price Adult $65 / Friend/Conc/Group $59
Bookings Book at THE EDGE: www.buytickets.co.nz / 09
357 3355 / 0800 289 842
Group bookings: groups@the-edge.co.nz / 09 357 3354
INFORMATION
Web site www.aaf.co.nz
Social media Facebook: facebook.com/Aklfestival
Twitter: @Aklfestival
Media enquiries Siobhan Waterhouse, Publicist. P: +64
(0)9 374 0317 | M: +64 (0) 22 126 4149
E: siobhan.waterhouse@aucklandfestival.co.nz
By arrangement with Arts Projects Australia
The Chinese pipa virtuoso plays two exclusive performances
in
Auckland Arts Festival 2013
WU MAN AND THE KRONOS QUARTET
Saturday 9 March, 2013
The Civic, Auckland
WU MAN SOLO PERFORMANCE
Sunday 10 March, 2013
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
Wu Man is the very model of a modern soloist. More
importantly, her work is part of a big step in the evolution of
Western classical music. The best measure of her achievement is
that her instrument, the pipa - a Chinese lute that dates back some
2,000 years - is no longer an exotic curiosity. Symphony audiences
have heard her perform concertos by Lou Harrison and Tan Dun. She
performs regularly with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the
Kronos Quartet, as a soloist in Bang on a Can marathons, and in
chamber groups and orchestras giving the premieres of works by
Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Chen Yi, and Bright Sheng, who have
written pipa parts into their works with her sound and dexterity in
mind. - Musical America
Wu Man, the intrepid pipa player, Grammy Award winner and
one-woman force of nature who is coming to Auckland Arts Festival
2013, has been named Musical America's 2013 Instrumentalist of the
Year. Wu Man is performing in two special events at Auckland Arts
Festival 2013 - A Chinese Home and Ghost Opera
with the renowned Kronos Quartet on Saturday 9 March, and a solo
performance on Sunday 10 March. Tickets are on sale now through THE
EDGE.
Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director, Carla van Zon, said,
"We are absolutely delighted Wu Man has been honoured by Musical
America, one of the world's leading music publications. She's
highly talented, fearless and thrilling to watch. On top of that,
she plays an instrument many people have never heard of in a
completely modern way, leaving audiences buzzing."
With her Chinese lute, which she traverses with the mastery of
Hendrix on a guitar, and a repertoire that ranges from bluegrass to
Beijing opera, Wu Man has spent the last 20 years seeking out ways
to introduce the pipa and Chinese musical culture to audiences in
the West. Her many projects and collaborations aim to unite the
pipa with a variety of western instruments and art forms,
presenting the instrument to audiences in a way they can understand
and enjoy in an accessible context. Wu Man has been cited by the
Los Angeles Times as "the artist most responsible for bringing the
pipa to the Western World."
In her Auckland Arts Festival 2013 solo performance Wu Man will
perform selections from her 2010 recording Immeasurable
Light and her most recent album, released in 2012,
Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk
Route. This one-off recital will trace Wu Man's deeply
personal journey into how the pipa's story has shaped her own.
Following her solo performance, Wu Man will host a free post-show
talk in the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber.
Then, for one night only at The Civic, Wu Man and the
world-renowned Kronos Quartet will travel into new musical
territory with two momentous works, A Chinese Home and
Ghost Opera.
A Chinese Home is an edgy performance for string
quartet and pipa that was conceived by Wu Man, Kronos' David
Harrington and leading theatre director Chen Shi-Zheng (Dark
Matter, The Peony Pavilion, Monkey: Journey to the West). Tracking
a history of 100 years of Chinese music history from traditional
China, to the western-influenced Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s,
through the Cultural Revolution and into today, this exciting
musical journey comes to life both on the stage and screen.
The other-worldly Ghost Opera, the second installation
in the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man performance, incorporates Chinese,
American, Tibetan, and English cultures, played on violin, viola,
cello and pipa as well as water, metal, stone and paper. Also
utilising innovative projections, Bach and Shakespeare are fused
with Chinese shadow puppetry and ancient folklore. Ghost
Opera was composed by Tan Dun, whose prolific career includes
an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the film Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man has performed with major
orchestras around the world, and collaborated with some of the
world's leading composers, including Philip Glass, Tan Dun and
Terry Riley, and performers the Silk Road Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma and,
of course, the Kronos Quartet.
www.aaf.co.nz
Wu Man is one of the rare musicians who has changed the
history of the instrument she plays. - Boston Globe
CONCERT DETAILS
Show Kronos Quartet and Wu Man
Where The Civic, Auckland
When Saturday 9 March, 8pm
Duration 2hr with interval
Post-concert talk Saturday 9 March
Price Premium $87 / Friend/Conc/Group $81
A Res $77 / Friend/Conc/Group $72
B Res $67 / Friend/Conc/Group $62
C Res $45
Bookings Book at THE EDGE: www.buytickets.co.nz
/ 09 357 3355 / 0800 289 842
Group bookings: groups@the-edge.co.nz / 09 357 3354
Show Wu Man: Solo Recital
Where Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
When Sunday 10 March, 5pm
Duration 1 hr no interval
Post-concert talk Sunday 10 March
Price Adult $65 / Friend/Conc/Group $59
Bookings Book at THE EDGE: www.buytickets.co.nz
/ 09 357 3355 / 0800 289 842
Group bookings: groups@the-edge.co.nz / 09 357 3354
INFORMATION
Web site www.aaf.co.nz
Social media
Facebook: facebook.com/Aklfestival
Twitter: @Aklfestival
Media enquiries Siobhan
Waterhouse, Publicist. P: +64 (0)9 374 0317 | M: +64 (0) 22 126
4149 | E: siobhan.waterhouse@aucklandfestival.co.nz
By arrangement with Arts Projects Australia