Wu Man is an internationally renowned pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso. Born in Hangzhou (China), Wu Man studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing where she became the first recipient of a master’s degree in pipa. She currently lives in Boston (United States of America) where she was chosen as a Bunting Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University.
Wu Man was selected by Yo-Yo Ma as the winner of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in music and communication. She is also the first artist from China to have performed at the White House with Yo-Yo Ma with whom she now performs as part of the Silk Road Ensemble. Wu Man has collaborated with distinguished musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, David Zinman, Yuri Bashmet, and Cho-liang Lin.
In the orchestral world she has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and many others. Her touring has taken her to the major music halls of the world including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
In 2021, Wu Man released Flow, a beautiful collaboration with Japanese shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki. The music was composed to describe the changes of season in a traditional Eastern Asian garden.
Wu Man’s was one of the nine exceptional recipients of the 2023 National Heritage Fellowship, a prestigious award presented by the American institution National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Discography:
Chinese Music for the Pipa (Nimbus Records NI 5368, 1993)
An Anthology of the Classic Pipa Pieces (China Record Co, EL-315, 1989)
The OverLord Removed off his Armour (China Record Co, BCD-90023, 1991)
China Collage, with Liu Sola (Avant, 1996)
Chinese traditional & Contemporary Music (Nimbus Records, 1996)
Music for the Motherless Child, with Martin Simpson (Water Lily Acoustics, 1997)
Ghost Opera, with Kronos Quartet Nonesuch, 1997)
Spring Snowfall, with Liu Sola (Also productions, 2000)
Chinese Traditional and Contemporary Music (Nimbus, 2000)
Aki no Yugure (Autumn Dusk), with Yoshio Kurahashi (Sparkling Beatnik Records, 2001)
Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet (Sony, 2002)
The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan (Smithsonian Folkways, 2002)
Posture of Reality, with Tastu Aoki – (Asian Improve Record 0065, 2003)
Pipa from a Distance (Naxos, 2003)
Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon (Sony, 2005)
Wu Man and Friends (Traditional Crossroads, 2005)
New Impossibilities (Sony Classics, 2007)
The Cusp of Magic, with Terry Riley and Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch, 2008)
Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago (2008)
Off the Map (World Village, 2009)
Immeasurable Light (Traditional Crossroads, 2010)
Music of Central Asia, Vol. 10: Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route (Smithsonian Folkways, 2012)
Elegant Pipa Classics (Wind Music, 2013)
Our World in Song: An Odyssey of Musical Treasures, with Luis Conte, and Daniel Ho (Wind Music, 2014)
Flow, with Kojiro Umezaki (In a Circle Records, 2021)
Website: www.wumanpipa.org
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.