As people become more familiar with different music styles from around the world, musicians are increasingly looking to appeal to these multilingual audiences with surprising blends of styles and contemporary reinterpretations of traditional classics. Chinese musical virtuoso Xu Ke – described as the “Paganini of the erhu world” – is known for revolutionising the erhu. “I started learning to play the erhu when I was six,” says Xu, who will play in Hong Kong in December. “I was a fan of Peking opera and jing erhu was the first instrument I studied during the Cultural Revolution.” Xu gained his music degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1982 after studying under erhu master Yusong Lan. He became the first erhu player in the China National Traditional Orchestra a year later and was dubbed an erhu genius in 1987 when he made his sensational debut as a soloist in the Beijing Concert Hall. Yet the following year proved a turning point in his career. “Unfortunately, both erhu and Chinese folk music was, and is, unknown to many people,” says Xu, who now lives in Tokyo, Japan. “When I first performed erhu to a Japanese audience in 1988, the feedback disappointed me. Perhaps it was partially due to a culture gap, but I also realised that this ancient instrument needed some improvement.” Xu committed himself to a comprehensive reform of the erhu, to see if it could be expanded into other musical genres. “Three decades later, I am happy to say that my erhu has been transformed into a solid member of the string family with a new performance standard that can adapt to a wide variety of music,” he says. I felt the original range of the erhu limited its repertoire to Chinese folk music, so I introduced techniques to help extend the breadth of the instrument’s performance Xu Ke, musician “I am lucky in that the Japanese really have an ear to enjoy any kind of music, folk or classical, and I am proud that my innovations have contributed to the success of so many unique concerts. It has been an arduous and challenging process, but the outcome turned out nicely.” Xu redefined erhu playing by using techniques usually used in Western classical music. “I felt that the original range of the erhu limited its repertoire to Chinese folk music, so I introduced techniques to help extend the breadth of the erhu’s performance,” he says. “I invented the use of double-stopping [playing two notes at once], artificial harmonies in high position [eschewing the use of the erhu’s natural harmony in favour of the artificial], and graduated prestissimo staccato [a specialised violin technique, often used when playing Romani music] on the erhu: a combination of these allows the erhu [to be played] outside the Chinese folk genre. “Ultimately these techniques were incorporated into my own original pieces, too.” Xu, who will be performing accompanied by the Tokyo String Quintet at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall on December 14, says matching the erhu to the quintet by creating a suitable harmony is not easy. “Chamber music is said to be the product of a symphony in miniature,” Xu says. “Thus, a quintet brings forth many layers of complex chords, melodies, colours and sentiments. The erhu’s temperament was originally not suited to this style of playing and joining in often resulted in muddy colours. “However, with the new playing techniques and the addition of a good vibrato, I think the erhu is now able to comfortably speak the ‘language’ of the quintet; essentially, it is able to produce a palette to match the colours of the quintet.” Xu and the quintet will play pieces such as an instrumental version of Chinese Folk Song arranged by Chinese composer Zhou Long. The erhu was originally not suited to playing [with a string quintet] and joining in often resulted in muddy ‘colours’. But with the new playing techniques and the addition of a good vibrato, the erhu is able to produce a palette to match the colours of the quintet Xu Ke The performance includes eight short pieces from both northern and southern provinces that unfold into portraits of bittersweet emotion, love, sadness, the beauty of nature. Xu says it aims to appeal to a modern audience while giving new life to the ancient root of the folk genre. “On a completely different note, we will also perform Chim Chim Cheree [from the film Mary Poppins ] – a bright and cheerful piece to bring you back in time to the late 20th century.” Xu will also be playing his own compositions, such as Enjoy the Countryside , written in 1993. “I’m certain the audience will savour the atmosphere of nostalgia and celebration this song delivers,” he says. Russian folk’s new horizons Also blending nostalgia with contemporary flair, Russian band Izumrud, which translates as “emerald”, will entertain Hong Kong audiences on November 15 and 16 at Sha Tin Town Hall. The group, founded in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains, plays well-known classical music, folk or pop compositions with traditional Russian folk instruments to “draw attention to our Russian folk instruments – we try to open new horizons for them”, says Svetlana Solovey, who plays the domra, a long-necked Russian lute. Solovey, who also manages the group, plays alongside Michail Sidorov, the artistic leader, and balalaika player, Evgeny Khanchin (percussion, arrangement), Nadezda Zhikhareva (also domra), Konstantin Prokoshin (counter-bass, balalaika, vocals), and Rinat Yakupov (bayan, an accordion). All of them studied classical music at Yekaterinburg’s Ural State Conservatory. Since performing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Izumrud has earned a reputation as one of Russia’s major musical innovators and changed perceptions of Russian folk instruments by playing a blend of classical, ethnic, jazz, blues and art rock styles. Russian folk music has always been distinguished by its depth, lyricism and melody … We have created our own style, which consists of elements from different genres: we play the music that interests us and our audience Svetlana Solovey, Izumrud “Russian folk music has always been distinguished by its depth, lyricism and melody,” Solovey says. “Now it is gaining more popularity and this is due to the rise of patriotism in Russia. “Finding our own direction in music, we have created our own style, which consists of elements from different genres: we play the music that interests us and our audience.” Izumrud will be playing a range of pieces in Hong Kong, including a revision of Ochi Chernia (Dark Eyes), a Russian romance song with lyrics written by the Ukrainian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka. Izumrud’s arrangement will include the different rhythms of Russian folk, Gypsy swing and Balkan-style music. The 21st century audience wants bright emotions, high professionalism and something new and unpredictable Svetlana Solovey It will also play one of its favourites, Bach Dance . “We took as a basis the well-known theme of Bach, Organ Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, and imagined that Bach was amused and began to dance,” Solovey said. “The result is a rockabilly piece. “The 21st century audience wants bright emotions, high professionalism and something new and unpredictable.” Fusion of East meets West Korean quintet Ensemble SU, will be offering something unexpected, too, on December 6 at Sha Tin Town Hall, as it merges traditional Korean and Western musical instruments. The fusion group, comprising Jihye Hur on gayageum – a zither-like string instrument – Dayoung Han on the violin-like haegeum , Mina Lee on cello, Taeung Jang on piano and Daeyoung Go on Western and Korean drums. Ensemble SU’s Edinburgh Fringe show, mixing traditional Korean music with modern compositions, included a crowd-pleasing medley of Queen’s Love of My Life and Bohemian Rhapsody, A-ha’s Take On Me and Coldplay’s Viva La Vida Ensemble SU has performed around the world since 2010, including Japan, the US, Australia and the Edinburgh Fringe, in Scotland – using its unique brand of music which combines traditional Korean music with modern compositions as it takes audiences on a journey through time and space. At the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 the group performed numbers including the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s jazz standard, Take Five and a crowd-pleasing medley of Queen’s Love of My Life and Bohemian Rhapsody, A-ha’s Take On Me and Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. ‘Zest’ for vocal reinvention Hong Kong a cappella group, Boonfaysau, also will be blending musical styles and reimagining classics on January 18 at Kwai Tsing Theatre. Boonfaysau translates as “half-fat-skinny”, and refers to a prized type of Cantonese barbecued pork – a colloquialism for the best – as well as being a good description of the band’s physiques. The eight-member group, comprising Tiffany Wong, Stephanie Wu, Vivian Ng, Stephanie Ng, Rocky Au, Andrew Wong, Sam Ng and Yuki Siu met at university when singing with another group, Mosaic. We created the group to explore the countless possibilities of the human voice, as a way of experimentation but also as a way of having fun Sam Ng, Boonfaysau “We created the group to explore the countless possibilities of the human voice, as a way of experimentation but also as a way of having fun,” says Ng, who sings bass. “There’s something about the artistic process of drawing inspiration from our favourite songs and readapting them for performance in the versatile, yet powerful, format of a cappella that all of us enjoy very much.” The group will perform its own arrangements, adding spice and playfulness to the stage, as well as collaborating on a few tutti songs with another local group, VSing. “We went with a theme-based approach; we began with picturing and designing the gist of what we wanted to convey and went from there to deciding on a few themes and finally to handpicking songs we felt were best suited for the performance,” Siu, Boonfaysau’s vocal percussionist and beatboxer, says. Our agenda is to reinvent and have fun with the music that we share with our audience, so expect variety – and zest Yuki Siu, Boonfaysau “For most of our other performances our set list has depended on the occasion. This new-found freedom to choose what story to tell on stage has been liberating and absolutely enjoyable. “It also allows us to fit all of our favourite songs into one coherent performance, thus condensing years of musical inspiration, experimentation and fun into mere hours. “Our agenda is to reinvent and have fun with the music that we share with our audience, so expect variety – and zest.” Ng says: “In our experience as performers, there’s nothing more memorable about a musical performance than being able to surprise. “As surprises slowly become part of the audience’s expectations for all musicians – we’ve made sure that our music always continues to stimulate, often multiple times in one performance.”