Maestro brings ancient Chinese sounds to London

Cultivating mind

In ancient China, guqin, go, calligraphy and painting were regarded as the four arts that a person needed to study to become a scholar, because they were said to cultivate one's mind and disposition in different ways.

Cheng, born into a musical family in Beijing, first studied the pipa, the Chinese plucked lute, with her father when she was 7, and she then got to study with a guqin master, Li Xiangting, when she was at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music.

"My father is a pipa master, and I still remember receiving the pipa on my 7th birthday as a gift," Cheng said. "My grandfather plays the guqin, so I was interested in learning both."

In 1987 Cheng graduated with distinction in pipa and guqin performance before playing with the China National Traditional Orchestra in Beijing. She moved to London in 1990 and studied ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, and later taught both the guqin and pipa at the school.

In the early 2000s Cheng conducted research to recreate the five-string pipa, which was lost in the 8th century in China, with the current pipa having only four strings. For her work she won major awards from Women in Music, the Arts Council of England, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Throughout the years Cheng has been active in performing at various concerts and on special occasions and in collaborating with musicians from different genres and countries. She also co-founded the UK Chinese Ensemble, which performs throughout the UK and the rest of Europe on occasions such as Chinese Spring Festival when tens of thousands of people gather in Trafalgar Square, London, to watch the annual grand show.

Cheng's most recent collaboration was with Psappha Ensemble of Manchester in its 'Composing for …' project early this year, during which six young composers worked with her to create new compositions for the pipa. The six pieces were released on July 28.

"I felt very proud that I was the only female musician in this year's project, and the pipa is the only non-Western instrument," Cheng said. "It's a challenging and exciting experience for me.

"During workshops I explained the features of pipa and showed the composers how it is played, and worked with them to create music that combines elements of contemporary and classical, Chinese and Western."

Cheng had been busy preparing the 2023 London International Chinese Music Festival, which took place between Aug 20 and Aug 27. The event combined a collection of concerts, academic exchanges and a summer school focused on traditional Chinese musical instruments.

"Three decades have flown by since I first came to London, and I have taught hundreds of students," Cheng said. "A lot of them were foreigners who show great appreciation toward Chinese civilization.

"I enjoy what I am doing. I simply feel the joy when watching them progress in their skills and understanding of Chinese music."