Joseph Celli Interviews Pipa Virtuoso WuMan

Joseph Celli Interviews Pipa Virtuoso WuMan

Wu Man, Musical America’s ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’, and a principal founding musician in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad project  discusses the pipa, it’s history and use in contemporary compositions that have been composed for her by Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Tan Dun and many others. Wu Man discusses the upcoming performance with the New Haven Symphony of the new concerto composed for her by Du Yun entitled Ears of the Book – Pipa Concerto.  She has released over 40 albums including four Grammy Award  nominated releases and as the world’s foremost pipa soloist has appeared with major orchestras throughout the world.    “…one of the foremost Asian musicians in North America…she has plucked her way through classical, experimental and world music, even jazz, in the process introducing the pipa’s twang to any number of concertgoers.”