Timed for Chinese New Year, Lisa Spector's Music School will present a concert that will blend conventional European classical music with the melodious chiming of the pipa, the quintessential Chinese musical instrument.
"A Chinese New Year Celebration" takes place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4, at the Main Street music school. Besides classical pianist Spector playing classical masters and composers, it features El Granada resident Shenshen Zhang, a native of China who performed professionally with symphonies and operas in that country before coming 14 months ago to the United States to join husband Mark Losos.
 Shenshen "Jenny" Zhang holds the Chinese pipa she will play in Sunday's concert. |
In Sunday's performance, Zhang will perform solo on the pipa, the instrument that often comes to mind when fans think of Chinese music.
"The pipa, we say, is our national classical instrument," said Zhang. "It's our traditional instrument."
The pipa, Zhang says, came from early Persia to China in the fourth century B.C. Originally it had four strings and four frets; now it has grown to 29 to 31 frets.
To play it, the musician tapes the fingers and positions it like a sitar, holding down the strings with one hand while playing with the other. "The left hand and right hand work together," Zhang said.
The result is a beautifully melodious, wistful, delicate sound filled with a vibrant tremolo. While the pipa can adapt to different styles, Zhang says, it is usually aligned with classical music.
The daughter of amateur but enthusiastic musician parents, Zhang began to play the pipa at age 9 while growing up in Wenzhou, in the Zhejiang province of China. At 12, she attended the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She progressed through middle school, high school and college, earning a bachelor's degree in performance and a master's degree in musicology.
She performed all across China and in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. She spent 10 years as a soloist with the Xiamen Opera House.
One of her most enjoyable memories is playing the classical piece "Butterfly Lovers" in Malasia with a symphony. In it, she played the melodious, fluttering violin solo adapted for pipa. "It is very beautiful," she said. "I wish I could play it sometime here."
On Sunday, she will play modern Chinese works: "Serenity" by Liu Tianhua (1895-1932), the traditional "Jackdaw playing in the water," "Spring Rain" by Zhu Yi (1950s-) and Wen Bo, "Yi Dance" by Wang Huiran (1936-), "Friends from afar, anchor your stay" (Liu Dehai (1937-), "The night of bonfire fest" by Wu Junsheng (1938-) and "The spring of Tianshan" by Wang Fandi (1933-).
In a Spector twist, both Zhang and Spector will perform solo.
Their paths crossed last summer when Spector heard Zhang play with the Coastside Lutheran Church choir in a Chinese piece of music. "There was such elegance," Spector said. "I had never heard the pipa. It's very, very beautiful. She performed in the way they celebrate Chinese New Year."
At the concert, Chinese appetizers and dessert will be served as refreshments, and Spector will perform pieces by composers influenced by Chinese composers.
Her list includes "Estampes" by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), a three-movement 1903 piece, the first movement of which represents China. She will also play "The Chinese Serenade" by little-known 19th-century composer Fliege, and "Bereuse" by 19th-century composer Alexander Ilyinsky.
It fits into Spector's plan of presenting monthly concerts with different but relevant themes.
Her April 1 concert will "bring a sense of humor" with works that pack surprises.
Her May 12 and 13 concerts will salute Mother's Day with works by female composers. Her June 17 afternoon concert will salute Father's Day with jazz she will play with saxophonist Michael O'Neill and pianist Larry Dunlap.
And her July 14 concert will salute Bastille Day with work by French composers.
Along those lines of using music to teach, Spector will soon offer a four-night class called "Hum a Few Bars and I'll Fake It," beginning March 8. The four nights will focus on the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and improvisational/20th century periods, respectively.
For information, contact Spector at 726-5119.
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