Artist Profiles: Cheng Yu

Cheng Yu is an internationally famous pipa and guqin virtuoso. At the age of 13 she won first prize in the National Youth Competition for the Performance of Traditional Instruments. She was trained at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in pipa and guqin and was winner of the Outstanding Performer award for pipa performance at the China Traditional Instruments Competition.

After graduating with distinction, she joined the Central Orchestra for Chinese Music in Beijing as a pipa soloist and has subsequently been elected Fellow of the Chinese Association of Musicians. In 2004 she completed her PhD in ethnomusicology (Chinese Music) at SOAS, University of London.

Since arriving in London she has performed over 600 concerts in the UK and internationally at venues including the Purcell Room, WOMAD, Edinburgh Festival and Duck’s Hall, has undertaken cross-genre collaborations, published three solo CDs, and takes commissions for film and TV recording.

She is also the founder of the UK Chinese Music Ensemble and London Youlan Qin (seven-stringed zither) Society and a member of the the Silk String Quartet.

In 2019, Cheng Yu released the album The Sound of Silk – Chinese Strings, a collaboration with her mentor, guqin master and professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, Li Xiangting. The duo performed traditional Chinese compositions and improvisations.

In 2021, Cheng Yu released the album Longyin – The Dragon Chants in association with London-based Malaysian xiao (flute) virtuoso Dennis Kwong Thye Lee.

Discography:

Classical Chinese Pipa (ARC Music, 1994)
Chinese Masterpieces of the Pipa & Qin (ARC Music, 2007)
The Sound of Silk – Chinese Strings, with Li Xiangting (ARC Music, 2019)
Longyin – The Dragon Chants, with Dennis Kwong Thye Lee (ARC Music, 2021)

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.