CONTEMPORARY CHINESE PIPAMUSIC AND ITS FUTURE

The long-standing influence of Western compositional techniques on Chinese composers is now so deeply entrenched that younger composers are more familiar with Western idioms than with Chinese traditional music. During my 2011 fieldwork in Shenyang and Beijing I spoke with a number of students and professionals who play the pipa, the Chinese four-stringed pear-shaped lute. They made frequent references to a 'new sound' for the instrument, but their multiple and conflicting interpretations of this sound often revealed major concerns over the instrument's future. Views about the pipa's new direction are polarized. Chen Zemin, a retired pipa professor from the Central Conservatoire of Music, explained to me at his home in Beijing: 'I do not want to listen to the current compositions on pipa because they apply Western things to a Chinese melody. It's like you wear a Western suit, but you are not a Westerner.' Meanwhile, young professional performer Shi Juan argued: 'I am not against tradition, but I feel this is the new way forward... You have to let people internationally understand and accept this new music.' My research reveals that the matter is more complex than a simple split between those preferring traditional repertories versus those preferring modern repertories. In this paper I also address the incorporation of Eastern and Western heritage in pipa music and the continuing relative paucity of compositions for pipa.