Not the Ancient Tunes
Yuanchun Yu and Friends · Fusion Chamber Music Series
Reinventing Instrumental Language · Reimagining Chinese Music
Overview
“Not the Ancient Tunes” is not a rejection of tradition, but a re-encounter with it — a journey to speak the ancient through a modern tongue.
Led by pipa virtuoso Yuanchun Yu, the series brings together piano, dizi and xiao, percussion, erhu, and guzheng in a chamber-music dialogue that fuses improvisation, heritage, and contemporary imagination.Each concert unfolds as a living conversation between cultures and centuries — where the pulse of jazz meets the cadence of Tang poetry, and the Silk Road’s echoes resonate within present-day harmony.
It is both a stage experiment in technical and artistic balance and a reflection on how traditional sound can embody a modern spirit.
Program
Wuhan Concert Hall · March 16 2024
Pipa Yuanchun Yu | Piano Dawei Qu | Dizi/Xiao Xiaokui Ding | Percussion Yu Zheng | Erhu Zitong Wang | Guzheng Yuxuan Zhang
National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing · June 16 2024
Original ensemble reunion, featuring new improvisations and expanded chamber textures.
National Centre for the Performing Arts (Premiere Edition) · April 18 2021
The inaugural edition, where composers and performers co-created music live on stage — defining the aesthetic foundation of the series.
Mid-Autumn Special · CloudSong Hall · September 14 2024
Guest appearances by soprano Jiani Wei and percussionist Kaizhong Cao, blending voice and instrument in a celebration of moonlight and renewal.
Musical Highlights
Hunting the Deer · Lin Di
Inspired by The Book of Songs, the piece paints the vivid tension of an ancient hunt — from the warriors’ departure to the triumphant chase.
After the Rain, the Lotus Blooms · Lei Huanran
A duet for pipa and guzheng, evoking the fragrance and serenity of a summer pond through elegant pentatonic counterpoint.
Impressions of the 24 Solar Terms · Jinfan Jin
A poetic suite portraying China’s agrarian calendar — four movements (Grain in Ear, Grain Rain, Frost’s Descent, Beginning of Autumn) reimagined in miniature chamber textures.
Scattering Gold Sands · Yuanchun Yu
Rooted in the Dunhuang Pipa Manuscripts, this dialogue between pipa and Chinese drum fuses Silk Road rhythms with spontaneous improvisation.
Strings of Silence · Jing Sun
A meditative solo tracing the pipa’s journey through Central Asia, merging Indian and Chinese influences into a spiritual contemplation.
The Scholar and the Warrior · Jing Sun
Commissioned by Yuanchun Yu — a modern reflection on duality in Chinese aesthetics: intellect and strength, restraint and passion.
Ling Yan · Guan Dazhou
Named after the Lingyan Pavilion of Tang dynasty fame — a musical monument to loyalty, memory, and human dignity.
Light of the Silk Road · E Mao
A three-movement work (The Journey · Market Dance · Hope), weaving Jasmine Flower motifs with asymmetric 7/8 rhythms, portraying cultural encounter and renewal.
Eternal Victory · Jing Sun
Combining Norse folk motifs with Chinese timbres, this piece celebrates resilience and transcultural harmony through improvisatory chamber dialogue.
Guess the Tune · Yunnan Folk Song · Arr. Dawei Qu
A witty conversation between jazz harmony and folk rhythm — playful, virtuosic, and delightfully unrestrained.
Gallery
Artistic Spirit
Ancient as Root –
draws on Dunhuang manuscripts, Tang-Song poetry, and Silk Road imagery as deep cultural lineage.
Modern as Language –
embraces contemporary composition, harmony, rhythm, and live improvisation.
East–West as Dialogue –
juxtaposes Chinese timbres with piano, percussion, and chamber instrumentation to form a new collective sound.
Stage as Creation –
treats performance not as reproduction, but as “real-time composition” — each concert a unique, unrepeatable moment of co-invention.
Artists
Yuanchun Yu · Pipa
Doctor of Pipa and faculty member at the Central Conservatory of Music. Acclaimed for her artistry bridging Chinese tradition and contemporary innovation, she continues to redefine the expressive voice of the pipa in modern concert contexts.
Dawei Qu · Piano / Composer
Composer, pianist, and conductor; member of the China Musicians’ Association, resident composer of the China Oriental Performing Arts Group, and Osaka International Music Competition Grand Prize laureate.
Xiaokui Ding · Dizi & Xiao
Principal wind performer with the China National Traditional Orchestra; known for her versatility across dizi, xiao, shakuhachi, bansuri, and Irish whistle, and for appearances at the Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony and CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
Yu Zheng · Percussion
Award-winning percussionist and educator, blending classical, ethnic, and world percussion styles. First artist to perform handpan concertos with symphony and traditional orchestras.
Zitong Wang · Erhu
Doctoral candidate at the Central Conservatory, protégé of Professor Hongmei Yu, and co-founder of AIR Contemporary Ensemble. Renowned for integrating traditional expressiveness with experimental chamber forms.
Yuxuan Zhang · Guzheng & Composer
Dual-major student in guzheng and composition at the Central Conservatory; winner of the Wenhua Prize and Gold Prize at the Shanghai Spring Festival. Bridges performance and composition with lyrical precision.
Jiani Wei · Soprano (Special Guest)
Soloist of the China National Traditional Orchestra, featured in state-level productions and international tours across Europe and Asia.
Kaizhong Cao · Percussion (Special Guest)
Prize-winning young percussionist, recipient of the Wenhua Award, known for his dynamic performances that bridge traditional Chinese drumming and modern stage energy.
Program Essence
“To play the unplayed —
not by denying the past, but by letting it breathe anew.”
Through Not the Ancient Tunes, Yuanchun Yu and her ensemble invite audiences to experience Chinese instrumental music as a living art — one that is improvised, philosophical, and profoundly contemporary.
It is an encounter between sound and spirit, tradition and transcendence — a testament to how ancient strings still speak in the language of now.