Pianist with a poet's soul

Inspired by Western composers' views of the Orient, the music on Luo Wei's latest album has compelled the musician to write verse of her own.

One summer night in 2022, pianist Luo Wei was taking a walk in the garden near her home. The music playing on her phone was ambient and random.

Suddenly, she was captivated by a piece of music, which she later found out was called Oriental by Spanish composer Enrique Granados, selected from his musical work Danzas Espanolas (Spanish Dances).

"The music conjured an image of a Chinese pavilion, where the sun had just come up and the early morning dew was resting on the green leaves. It is very beautiful and imaginative. I was intrigued," says Luo, 24.

Her fascination with the piece didn't stop there. It inspired the young pianist's latest album, Gazing, and the supporting nationwide tour, called Gazing Eastwards, which kicked off on July 28 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and will run until 2024. The tour will take her to numerous cities, including Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

For the new album, Luo recorded pieces that are rarely performed, such as Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz's Iberia, Book I (T 105), and Spanish Suite No 1, Op 47, and Russian composer Mily Balakirev's Islamey, Oriental Fantasy. She also plays Clair de Lune, one of the best-known pieces among Chinese music lovers by French composer Claude Debussy. Granados' Oriental is also featured on the album.

"All the music and composers featured on the album were about, and inspired by, the concept of 'Oriental'. I call the album Gazing because the music is by Western composers who were inspired by 'Oriental' themes, but from afar," says Luo.

For the tour, besides playing pieces from the album, Luo also includes composer Yao Chen's piece, Five Colors, in which the composer uses the wu sheng yin jie, or the five-tune system found in Chinese music scales. Each part of the piece reflects the collision between the East and the West.

"The album reflects how Western composers see the East as being full of mystery. By having Yao Chen's Five Colors during the tour, it's like a conversation between the East and the West," says Luo.

The pianist also wrote a poem, titled The Moment Our Eyes Meet (Granada Fantasy), which was inspired by Albeniz's Granada, the composer's tribute to the city in Spain.

"All these pieces conjure up images, which is very poetic, and I want to write poems for each of them," adds Luo.

To launch the album, on July 22, Luo appeared at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The album is being released under the NCPA Classics label and was recorded at the center several months ago.