Reviving the music of the ancient Chinese lute - the pipa
Cheng Yu is an internationally renowned performer of the pipa or Chinese lute. She’s following a family tradition - her father had been the prinicipal pipa player in the Chinese National Orchestra in Beijing before the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution.
As well as classical performances in front of audiences all over the world she has played on film scores such as Disney’s Mulan and Shanghai Noon.
Now based at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Cheng Yu is leading a project to revive the ancient five-string pipa. Using a grant from the Women in Music commissioning fund, she has tasked three female composers to create new work for the instrument.
Anna Egan went to find about more about the project.
