Traditional with a twist
In addition to popularizing the erhu, Jiang Jianhua has found ways to give the classical instrument a contemporary sound, Chen Nan reports.
"Unlike other music I have adapted for the erhu to demonstrate its versatility and way it can sound, I have adapted Sakamoto's piece to show my respect and express my condolences," says Jiang, referring to the composer's death last year at the age of 71.
Jiang met Sakamoto in a studio in Tokyo in 1987 when he invited her to perform on the soundtrack he had written for The Last Emperor.
"He was very polite and humble. He told us that he didn't know much about traditional Chinese instruments, but he needed them for the soundtrack. He had us play a few bars of the score, which he had not yet finished and showed great interest in our instruments. Then, he asked me to keep playing while he composed the score," says Jiang, adding that besides the erhu, the players of the pipa and the guzheng (a Chinese zither) also performed for Sakamoto.
Thanks to the movie's success, the erhu made a lot of fans in Japan, Jiang adds.
In 1993, she started to teach at the University of Creation Art, Music and Social Work in Takasaki city, which was one of the first universities in Japan to offer an erhu major.
During the upcoming NCPA concert, she will also play another of Sakamoto's compositions, Energy Flow.
