Twenty-five years after arriving to the United States, renowned pipa played Wu Man continues her long-lasting collaborations with some of today’s most innovative musicians and ensembles. Wu Man is a principal and founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s celebrated Silk Road Ensemble. She toured with the ensemble last fall in Europe, including Istanbul, Paris, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg, and in Asia, including South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China. In February, Wu Man played concerts coinciding with the Chinese New Year and once more joined forces with the Silk Road Ensemble for its first joint performances with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic.
In February 2015, Wu Man presented a new work titled Unkai (Sea of Clouds), by Ned Rothenberg at the Asia Society in New York. The program featured Wu Man along with Mayumi Miyata and Jin Hi Kim, showcasing the three internationally acclaimed traditional instrumentalists from China, Japan, and Korea with instruments and music from their respective cultures. The three also toured to Washington DC, Fukushima, and Tokyo.
Wu Man also performed in London, Sydney, and Dortmund to present her new recital program, “Journey of Chinese Pipa,” exploring the history of solo pipa repertoire from traditional folksongs to her own original compositions.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
