Abstract
The sound of the Chinese folk instrument erhu, which belongs to the ancient string-bow family of the Huqin family, is distinguished by a special timbre resembling a human voice. In the XXth century, especially in its second half, Chinese composers began to willingly include erhu in the orchestra with European instruments, and in various ensembles, namely: erhu — flute, erhu — harp, erhu — piano. In the last century, the tradition of creating solo compositions for the erhu began to take shape, as the blind musician Abing (Hua Yanjun, 1893–1950) wrote pieces for this instrument. He owns one of the most famous compositions for erhu — “Moon Reflected in Two Springs”. Musical pictures for erhu were created by Liu Tianhua (1895–1932, “A Beautiful Night”), Liu Wenjin (1937–2013, “Capriccio in the Sanmen Gorge”). The erhu is not widely known in the world, although it was used by such major American composers as Lou Harrison (1917–2003), Terry Riley (b. 1935), Philip Glass (b. 1937), Chinese composer Tang Dong (1923–2011). This instrument is also little known in Russia. Saint Petersburg composer Viktor Pleshak (b. 1946) was one of the first to address erhu in his vocal and symphonic triptych “Dunhuang — Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”. Moscow composer Zuo Zhengguan (b. 1945) wrote a chamber piece “Water in the River” for an unusual composition: erhu and vibraphone. The author of the article set out to reveal the prehistory of the folklore source in Chinese art and to consider its new interpretation in Zuo Zhengguan’s composition.
Published Version
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