Faculty Recital Features Renowned Pipa Master, Gao Hong

Renowned composer and pipa master Gao Hong invites the public to an evening of music and storytelling on Saturday, Jan. 31 from 8 to 9 p.m. in the Carleton College Concert Hall. Using the pipa, a pear-shaped traditional Chinese lute, Gao Hong will share her own personal adventures, using the versatile instrument to take the audience along a three-part journey beginning in old China and continuing to the musician’s life today. Entitled “Gao Hong on the Highway,” this fun and experimental concert is free and open to the public.

The program will open with “Mother-in-Law Arguing with Daughter-in-Law,” a 100-year-old piece that tells the story of a mother-in-law arguing with her daughter-in-law through the various descriptive sounds of the pipa. Once lost for decades, this piece was reconstructed by Lin Shicheng, the late pipa master and Gao Hong’s mentor. Gao Hong is currently the only pipa musician known who can play this piece.

The program’s second piece, titled “Flying Dragon,” is Gao Hong’s original composition and tells of her own adventures. The title of the piece was inspired by what a fortune teller predicted to Gao Hong when she was a young child about her nomadic fate. Gao Hong was born during the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution of China, so she was constantly traveling further and further away from her hometown—first to neighboring provinces, then to Beijing, then to Japan, and finally to the United States. In this piece, Gao Hong explores the mixed emotions and confusion she felt growing up about the uncertainty of the future and reflects upon the constant struggles and challenges of a life filled with both hardship and happiness.

As the concert unravels, the repertoire not only progresses chronologically and delves more personally but it also expands musically. The third piece, after which the concert is named, tells the story of Gao Hong learning to drive in the United States following her immigration. Particularly fascinating about this work is how Gao Hong incorporates various medium in performance. The musician will be playing pipa while YouTube videos be screened along with pre-recorded synthesized music and loops in the background.

In Chinese tradition, the pipa is an instrument that is only meant to be played solo or in ensembles with other Chinese instruments. Gao Hong has been experimenting with pushing these traditional boundaries, composing and performing pipa concertos, and her own compositions combining the pipa with jazz musicians and musicians from other cultures. In this groundbreaking original work, Gao Hong pushes boundaries even further and incorporates a non-musical medium—YouTube videos—into the performance. “Gao Hong on the Highway,” swerves the pipa into new and uncharted territory.

This not-to-be-missed event is a collaboration between Gao Hong (composer and pipa); Carleton College Media and Design Specialist, Dann Hurlbert; and lighting designer Jeff Bartlett; along with video editing work by PEPS student workers Anna Schmiel ’17 (Minneapolis, Minn.), Ian Kpachavi ’17 (Fremont, Mich.), and Stefan Payne-Wardenaar ’17 (Golden Valley, Minn.).

Available at the concert on Saturday night will be pre-release copies of Gao Hong’s new album, Pipa Potluck. The album consists of lute music from all around the world, including those of pipa, banjo, slack key guitar, oud, and classical guitar. Among the featured artists are a four-time Grammy winner and a slack key guitarist George Kahumoku, Jr. from Hawaii and a two-time Grammy winner and a banjoist Alison Brown. The official CD is not available for sale until April, but pre-release copies of the album will be available at the venue on the day of the performance.

More about Gao Hong can be found online at www.chinesepipa.com.

For more information about this event, including disability accommodations, contact the Carleton College Department of Music at (507) 222-4475. The Concert Hall is located on First Street between Nevada and Winona Streets in Northfield, Minn.