COURTESY HONOLULU SYMPHONY
Tang Jun Qiao
Chinese
flutist
debuts
Celebrated dizi player Tang Jun Qiao, head flutist of the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra, will make her Hawaii debut tonight when the Honolulu Symphony presents its "East/West Synthesis" program combining traditional Chinese music and Eastern-inspired compositions. The program includes Stravinsky's "Le chant du rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)," which symphony conductor Samuel Wong describes as "the story of a song so beautiful that it cures the emperor of China of a grave illness."
Tang pays tribute to the heritage of Chinese Hawaiians and Chinese communities nationwide though use of the dizi, or bamboo flute. Only three keys can be played accurately on traditional instruments, so most players carry a chromatic set.
'East/West Synthesis'
Featuring Tang Jun Qiao on dizi, a traditional Chinese bamboo flute, in Eastern-inspired compositions; Samuel Wong conductsWhere: Blaisdell Concert Hall
When: 8 p.m. today and 4 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $16, $28, $33, $44, $59
Call: 792-2000 or Ticketmaster at (877) 750-4400
Program: Stravinsky's "Le chant du rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)"; selections for Chinese dizi, including "Wilderness" and "Hanging the Red Lanterns"; and Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphoses"
The dizi is believed to have been brought to China from Tibet during the Han Dynasty and has been used for more than 2,000 years in China. As with a Western flute, musicians blow across the dizi's mouthpiece and produce different notes by stopping any of the six holes in the pipe.
Tang can be heard on the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra's recordings of traditional Chinese and Buddhist music, as well as music for feng shui and tai chi. The Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra performs with traditional Chinese instruments such as the bawd, pip, zither, erhu and dizi.
Recognized worldwide for its unique sound and style, the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra's recordings have beautiful themes and poignant textures. Recent recordings include "The Imagery of Huangshan Mountain," "Tibetan Dream," "Sleeping: Music for Efficient Sleep," "Tiger: Chinese Feng Shui Music" and "The Moon of West Lake," which features Buddhist instruments as well as modern electronic instruments.
Tang has recorded several solo albums, and can be heard on composer He Xuntian's recent recording, "Cloud Bell," and on the soundtrack to the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
THE DIZI IS one of the most popular Chinese instruments in Asia. It has been used in many types of music for opera, drama, folk songs and dances, and as a solo instrument. It is the principal melodic instrument used in Kunqu, once the predominant form of Chinese theater that is still popular throughout the country.
Tang -- who has performed with symphony orchestras throughout Asia and Europe, including the London Symphony Orchestra, French National Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Belgium National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra -- was taught by her father to play the dizi.
She began her professional training at the Shengyang Conservatory, winning several musical competitions, and gave her first solo concert in 1990. She entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1992 and joined the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra in 1996.
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