Bringing closer two Oriental nations

Professor Liu Yuening,a wellknown Chinese musician across the globe,performed for the third time in our city,to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the great poet,Rabindranath Tagore. The event,“Night of the Orient,when east meets east” was organised by Chinese Consulate in Kolkata.

For the uninitiated,Yangqin is a trapezoid string instrument oriented from Persia around 4000 years ago. It has different names and characteristics in different nations and regions. Known variously as the hammered dulcimer in English,Hackbrett in German,Tympanon in French,Salterio in Spanish and Cimbalom,Cimbalka,Cimbal or Cambal in Central Europe,in India it is known as the Santoor. Over a period of more than 500 years,the Yangqin has now become a localized Chinese instrument and is a part of the Chinese instrument family.

Prof Dr Liu Yuening is a Yangqin maestro who has been performing in all parts of the world from the tender age of 12. Her first brush with fame came in 1978,for her solo performance Azalea in the documentary movie Spring Buds. Since then,numerous national and international laurels have come her way. In 1994,she won the Art Director Award of the First Traditional Instrument Solo Competition of Central Conservatory of Music,of which she is an ex-student and a present Professor. In 1998,she won the Beijing Outstanding Youth Teacher award. Apart from her musical performances,she has been to many countries as visiting professor,like the Michigan University,USA,M Lysenko Lviv State Academy of Music,Ukraine and P J Vejvanovsky National Academy of Music,Czech Republic. The list also includes University of Delhi where she undertook a cultural research as an ‘Asia Fellow’ of the Ford Foundation.

Dr Liu was first introduced to the writings of Tagore about three years back,during the research that she undertook. Her interest in his work grew with passing time and motivated her to undertake a research on his works that she is currently pursuing. She thinks that Tagore can be the bridge that can bring the two great cultures of India and China together. Her tribute to Tagore was a part of an effort on her side to start a cultural exchange that will bring the two great powers of the world closer. When asked about her impression of Tagore,she said,“His poetry is beautiful and mesmerizing. I want to take his thoughts to China through his songs. I think India and China are still not aware of each other’s rich cultural heritage and his works will help in building a long-lasting cultural relationship.”

Yangqin has found a close relative in the Indian version of the dulcimer,Santoor,or Santur. The magical evening also saw the jugalbandi of these two,by Prof Dr Liu Yuening and Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya. The enchantment of the melody cast a spell on everyone present. Dr Yuening plans to take this further than the evening. “I found the Indian music fantastic. When I play with the Indian music,it creates magic,” she said in her halting English. But language was no barrier in expressing her elation about the new corridors of music waiting to be explored. “I want to create a new raga using both the Chinese and the Indian musical instruments,” she chimed.

Arif Khan,a talented tabla player from this city who accompanied her on tabla that evening,also showered lavish praise on the musician. “I did not have to practise with her except for the Rabindra Sangeet part. It was such an inspiring experience to play with her,” he quipped excitedly. Governor of West Bengal,M K Narayanan,described his experience of the evening as “wonderful” and was found trying his hand on the Yangqin at the end of the performance.

This performance was a continuance of her efforts which led to “A dialogue between two Oriental Countries – Liu Yuening and Indian Musicians Concert” in the National Center for the Performing Arts on December 13,2009. It was based on the musical event of “When East meets West”,where Yehudi Menuhin and Pandit Ravi Shankar performed a duet of violin and Sitar.

Wednesday’s event realized the Sitar maestro’s dream of “a dialogue between two Oriental countries”,and brought together two different genres of music to create a reverie.

This was Prof Yuening’s third performance in Kolkata. She had also performed here in the last two years,on the invitation of the Consul General of China. She would be back in China ,but her aim of bringing the two countries closer through the music of Yangqin will continue.