The Chinese Zheng Zither

The zheng zither is one of the most popular instruments in contemporary China. It is commonly regarded as a solo instrument with a continuous tradition dating back to ancient times. But in fact, much of its contemporary solo repertory is derived from different regional folk ensemble repertories of the mid-twentieth century. Through a series of case

Autorentext

Sun Zhuo is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Music, Shaanxi Normal University, China. She earned her BA and MA in zheng performance from the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, and her PhD in Ethnomusicology from the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London in 2011. She is in high demand as a zheng player both in China and abroad and has released a number of albums in which she interprets both traditional and contemporary Chinese zither music.

Inhalt

Contents: Preface; Introduction: points of departure; An overview of the zheng; The zheng within folk ensemble contexts: a case study of Henan dadiao quzi; Transition: forming the solo zheng repertoire and practice; Creating a tradition: the qinzheng school in Xi'an; Contemporary zheng music and practice in an international setting background: new music and the zheng; Conclusion: regional-national-international: 20th-century transformations of the Chinese zheng; Appendices; Bibliography; Discography; Glossary; Index.