
Liu Fang
“An extraordinary focused, poised presence in her manner and her playing. In a lesser player this is just a trained formality. But Liu Fang has moved beyond perfect execution to the creativity that marks a true musician.” - fROOTS
“Liu Fang possesses virtuoso technique, grace and a unique empathy toward the music she plays, be it a traditional folk tune or a modern composition.” - All Music Guide.
If an easy ability to transcend geographic, stylistic and linguistic barriers is a hallmark of great artists, then Liu Fang, one of the finest Chinese traditional musicians performing today, is among their number. It helps that she is a musician who marries a stunning technique with a quiet aesthetic, moving without impediment between dizzy complexity and simple serenity on her chosen instruments, the pipa and guzheng.
Born in Yunnan Province, Liu Fang has been a devotee of Chinese traditional music since the tender age of six, a precursor to studies at the Shanghai Conservatory and mastery of several indigenous Chinese instruments. Fang is without peers in her command of the pipa, the teardrop shaped lute that came to China via The Silk Road in the 6th century. With its deeply scolloped thirty frets, played in the five fingered plucking style known as lunzi, this demanding instrument sings brightly in the hands of this modest virtuoso.
Based in Montreal since the mid 90’s, Liu Fang has blossomed as an ambassador for China’s enigmatic trove of classical and folkloric music, when collaborating with traditional musicians like kora master Ballake Sissokho or contemporary music ensembles like Italy’s Paul Klee Quartet.
Her first Irish performance, will be solo and unadorned, all the better to appreciate the ebb and flow of her deeply personal river of Taoist sound from torrents of rapid notes cascading downstream to tranquil pools of reflection.