Zhu Changyao is a virtuoso of the Chinese erhu (bowed two stringed violin) and conductor of the Chinese National Orchestra. On this album he performs mainly his own compositions based on Taiwanese culture and customs. He is accompanied by The Chinese Folk Orchestra of Jiangu Province. Fortunately, this isn't an easy listening orchestral album, but a superbly crafted piece of music with some truly beautiful moments. Five compositions that divide into eleven tracks in total. Comes with English liner notes.

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Excellent tradtional CD of the guqin (zither) and the pipa (lute) played by Fei Jianrong plus the paixiao (pan pipe), and the dizi (flute). 1. Three Variations of the Plum Blossom 2. The River of Rain 3. Moonlit Night on a Spring River 4. Passing Yang Guan 5. The Mantra of Pu'an 6. Lofty Mountains and Flowing Waters 7. Big Waves Against the Sand 8. The Forest inside the water


Price:   £18.99

Erhu player Jia Peng Fang was born in Helong Jiang province, China, in 1958. He studied at the Beijing Central Music Academy, became a leading erhu player in China, and left to live in Japan in 1988. He has since become one of the world's foremost erhu players, performing on stages in Japan, the US and elsewhere. On this album he is accompanied by accordion player Tetsuya Koyama, guitarist Kiyotsugu Amano and the chorus group Circus. Some songs were written by the well known Japanese composer Katsuhisa Hattori, who has been instrumental in furthering Jia Feng Pang's career.

1. Daybreak 2. Dusk 3. Shanghai Night 4. Tomorrow 5. Summer Dance 6. Memories 7. Bayside 8. Elegy 9. Pegasus 10. Bond

The erhu is the Chinese two stringed fiddle, and one of the most popular and representative traditional instruments. This CD, from Hong Kong, compiles some of the greatest players and some of the most famous tunes.

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Price:   £19.99

The pipa is the pear shaped Chinese lute, with a history dating back at least two thousand years. This excellent CD with a luxurious booklet and high quality sound compiles some of the greatest pipa players and most famous pieces.

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The dizi is the Chinese transverse flute, most commonly made of bamboo, and used in many types of Chinese folk music as well as in Chinese opera. This Hong Kong produced CD features many of the greatest players and the most famous pieces.

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Price:   £19.99

10 pipa solo pieces performed by Liu Fang as part of her pipa series. This volume concentrates on various folk roots styles from different parts of China, including Yunan Province (southern China), Yinzhou pipa music (southeast China) Guangdong music (southern China) Shanxi Province (west China) and Xinjiang Province (northwest China). Exquisite performances from a true maestro.

"... a virtuoso player of the pipa (and no slouch on the guzheng zither), as ably displayed on this CD of time-worn compositions from back home. She shifts nimbly from sparse passages that allow the pipa's sharp tones to blossom and breathe, to blistering runs that, in their density, would make flamenco masters weep." - Montreal Mirror.


Price:   £11.99

This CD (The Soul of Pipa, Vol. 2) is a veritable feast of alluring sounds, ranging from the eloquent and lyrical to the flamboyant and percussive. The varied soundscape produced by one player and one instrument is quite dazzling. Liu Fang's masterly technique (e.g. tremolo, delicate harmonics, lyrical tunes, and boisterous percussive effects), as well as the music itself -- which is based on short sections characterized by ever-changing tempos and dynamics - all evoke an improvised and exciting quality. ... Definitely a CD to enrich anyone's musical palette and provide a sample of China's rich musical heritage, ..." - The Wholenote Magazine

The Guzheng (pronounced "Goo-Jeng") is a plucked zither, related to the Japanese koto, Vietnamese dan tranh and the Korean kayagum. It is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments dating back to at least the Qin dynasty (about 220 BC). The guzheng is made of a wooden sound body with strings arched across movable bridges and usually has between 21-25 strings.The guzheng has been a popular instrument since ancient times and is considered as one of the main chamber as well as solo instruments of Chinese traditional music. Liu Fang, already established as one of the world's leading pipa players, has recorded her first album of solo guzheng music. The twelve tracks are traditional pieces for guzheng and folk melodies from various areas of China. Beautifully recorded, fantastically played, the guzheng has long been a part of Liu Fang's live performances. Now at last her exquisite playing can be enjoyed on a CD of pure quality.

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Recorded in Peking, the first international release and a landmark recording by world renowned Chinese erhu (violin) player, Jiang Jian Hua. A truly exceptional artist whose finesse and skill has moved and astonished top classical conductors including Herbert Von Karajan and Seiji Ozawa, and whose playing graced the Oscar winning soundtrack to the Epic movie 'The Last Emperor'. Jiang Jian Hua draws her material from throughout the vast Middle Kingdom. Treasured folk songs and tunes of one of the richest and most ancient cultures in the world. In addition she performs three exquisite folk songs from the islands of Okinawa in southern Japan.

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The wonderful Japan resident Chinese erhu (violin) player has released two best of albums, one of eastern tunes the other from the west. This volume of traditional and contemporary tunes from the east come mainly China and Japan. The contemporary material includes compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who Jiang Jian Hua played with on the Last Emperor, and Kitaro.


Price:   £22.99

Three young Chinese musicians, heavily influenced by Japanese technopop pioneers YMO, play contemporary tunes on Chinese traditional instruments such as qin(zither) erhu(flute) and Chinese flutes. Includes covers of YMO tunes and Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence'.

Wu Ru-jun is a virtuoso of the jinghu, a two stringed Chinese bowed fiddle. It is usually used to perform the melodies of Beijing opera, staying close to the vocal part. The two strings can be tuned in three ways within one and a half octaves. It is not normally performed solo, but on this CD Wu Ru-jun plays contemporary tunes on an album towards the new age end of the world spectrum.


Price:   £23.99

Jiang Ting is a Chinese pipa player from Inner Mongolia. She studied in Beijing and has been based in Japan since 1997. On this album her pipa (lute) is accompanied by the bowed stringed instrument, the erhu. She also sings occassionally on these twelve tunes written by both Chinese and Japanese composers.

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On her second solo album, Jiang Ting plays old Chinese and Japanese songs on the pipa.


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Excellent recording of solo pipa, a Chinese lute, that came from central Asia via western China in the 4th century. Old traditional pieces, new compositions and original works by Hu She-Feng and played with great finesse. Comes with English liner notes.

Musical instruments similar to the Chinese piba can be found on ancient Persian and Arab paintings and sculptures. Pottery, showing images of musicians riding on camels carrying instruments indicate that travelers brought the instrument along the silk road to China during the Tang dynasty. The piba underwent continuous remodeling during the Ming and Qing dynasties and more recently the 1950s and 60s. Zhang Qiang is the foremost player among the younger generation in China. He draws his repertoire from new arrangements of classical and traditional pieces to more recent compositions which have become standard piba pieces.All are played with the dexterity and skill of a top Chinese traditional player with the finesse and expression of a musician who adds an emotive element to a music and instrument with a rich history. This CD is another fine example and recording of Chinese traditional music from the JVC World Sounds Series.


Price:   £16.99

The Guzheng is the 21 stringed Chinese long zither that has a history that can be traced back some 2,200 years. It has a sound that captures the essence of Chinese traditional music. Such music is based on amazing musical dexterity, but as with all 'timeless' music, allows for the individual expression of the performer. Such an ancient tradition could hardly be in more capable hands than that of Jian Xiao-qing. She began studying at a very early age under the most famous teachers of the tradition. She was awarded first prize at a national competition for young people at national young people's competition for performance on Chinese instruments. She visited the United States in 1986 with a party of artists sponsored by the Chinese government. She later came to study in Japan, performed on the soundtrack to the film the Last Emperor and performed live in Japan and New York with Ryuichi Sakamoto.The tunes on this compact disc are all traditional Chinese with the exception of Ryuichi Sakamoto's, The Last Emperor. Jiang Xiao Qing performs solo with the exception of one piece on which she is accompanied by erhu, or the Chinese violin. This CD, mainly recorded in Japan in May of 1997, is perhaps the finest example of Guzheng music currently available, and is an important disc to further introduce one of the world's richest cultures to the outside world.

The Ruanxien, Zhuong Ruan and Da Ruan are all Chinese plucked string instruments. All have undergone various developments though the centuries, and this CD represents the top level of performance of the current state of the tradition by two wonderful musicians. The repertroire draws from new arrangements by the performers and to new compositions. Fei Jianrong is considered to be a virtuoso player of many types of plucked instruments. A virtual professional since the age of ten, she has won numerous prizes and scholorships and is also regarded as an important contemporary composer. She has performed in Australia and throughout Asia and in Japan is a member of a group, led by renowned Japanese composer Yoshiyuki Kozu. An Qundi from Dalian is best known for developing the daruan into a large fretless instrument suitable for solo performances. On this recording she demonstrates her prowess and how she has succeeded in this. The music on this CD is played with the extraordinary technique that Chinese classical demands and with the expression of two master musicians.


Price:   £16.99

Liu Mingyuan was one of the greatest performers ever of Chinese traditional music. He specialised in the erhu, the two stringed Chinese violin and other bowed instruments. He passed away in 1996, but the recordings presented here have been preserved and presented for the first time to the world outside of China. Within China, he was a household name, and was credited with helping to popularise the erhu in the latter half of this century. As well as the erhu, he plays on this recording other bowed lutes, known generically as the huqin, such as the banhu. The pieces range from folk songs from northeastern and other areas of China, to Romanian (he was the first player to arrange non-Chinese music for Chinese instruments) and Beijing Opera.This CD is a treasured legacy to one of the greatest ever Chinese traditional musicians, a tribute to his tremendous prowess and contribution to Chinese music.

Traditional music from various areas of China covering a vast range of instruments and styles.


Price:   £16.99