In the center of the stage of the Sydney Opera House, a young girl stood in front of a foreign symphony orchestra, wearing a white dress and holding the most "local" traditional folk instrument in China - suona. Within 40 seconds, "Hundred Birds Pay Attendance to the Phoenix" was played in one breath, and the colorful sounds of hundreds of birds came from the vigorous and powerful Chinese suona. Her suona performance not only won rounds of applause from the audience, but she also recently became popular on the Internet for "blowing out her abs."
Liu Wenwen
Her name is Liu Wenwen, born in a suona family in Jining, Shandong Province. She is a "post-90s" young female teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the first suona doctor in China. She has been active on the international stage again and again, allowing everyone to see more possibilities of the "local musical instrument" suona. On February 2, the cover news reporter contacted Liu Wenwen and listened to her talk about the path of exploration of ethnic folk music.
China's first suona doctor
He also refused to play the suona when he was a child
Speaking of the recent hot discussion on the Internet, "Blowing the suona will reveal abdominal muscles", Liu Wenwen said that it was indeed true, and now her private message has been Too many to watch. "I didn't pay much attention to this before. When I was preparing for my Ph.D. exam, I had to practice for 13 hours a day, which required a lot of strength in my abdominal muscles. Later, I felt that my stomach was getting harder and harder. It's getting harder and harder." She also jokingly told reporters: "After that experience of preparing for the exam, I found that when it comes to training abdominal muscles, playing the suona is more effective than fitness." Obviously, these changes in Liu Wenwen are also the source of She has the mission of inheriting suona for a generation and her persistence in studying suona, but her love did not come from the beginning.
Liu Wenwen's parents come from a suona family that has been passed down for many generations, especially her mother's generation, which is already the 12th generation. She recalled to reporters that she once heard from her elders that the family tree recorded that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there were court musicians in the family, and later they gradually became popular among the people. "Because I was born in a suona family, my parents have planned to learn to play suona since I was born. They hope that I can pass on this skill." Liu Wenwen said.
However, when she was young, she also resisted learning the suona passed down from generation to generation in her family. She told reporters that when she was a child, her parents always asked her to play a song in public during meals, but she could not control the volume at a young age, and her voice would get louder and louder, which would always scare others. "They would show that kind of scary expression, and it felt like they didn't like to hear me play, so I didn't like it since I was a child." In order to avoid practicing suona, Liu Wenwen said that when she was a child, she often had battles of wits and courage with her parents.
It was not until she entered college and studied with various masters and traveled all over the country that she began to have the concept of "inheritance" in her mind. "After I went to college, I continued to perform on stage. After receiving some applause and recognition, I felt the feedback from my previous ten years of practice. Then I slowly fell in love with suona, which prompted me to start studying this seriously. field."
In 2020, with the encouragement of her mentor Liu Ying, Liu Wenwen decided to apply for a PhD in Suona. However, due to the extremely high difficulty of applying, no one had ever obtained this degree before. She told reporters that because she had been working for many years before the exam, she also went through a process of adjusting her learning status. "During that time, I felt quite painful. There were times when I felt like I was going to collapse. Because I had to play for 60 minutes without stopping, I practiced for 13 hours a day. The days were also very boring." Mentality, in order to allow herself to immerse herself in learning more focused, her parents also cooperated with her to temporarily move out, just to create a quiet atmosphere for her. "I never thought about what would happen if I didn't pass the exam, and I didn't expect that I would pass the exam. Anyway, I just ran back and forth in school." Naturally, hard work paid off, and Liu Wenwen finally passed the exam as she wished, becoming the number one student in China. Dr. Suona has since started her exploration and innovation.
Explore more possibilities of the suona
Let the national musical instrument play farther
In February 2017, Liu Wenwen stood on the stage of the Sydney Opera House as a special soloist at the New Year's Symphony Concert conducted by the famous conductor Tan Dun. She is also the first suona player to perform as a soloist at the Sydney Opera House. Recalling the scene and feelings at that time, Liu Wenwen felt that she was completely immersed in it, "Because I was not very clear about the situation at that time, and I was more courageous, so I rushed to Australia with my suona. I was really nervous before going on stage. , but I wasn’t very nervous when I was officially performing.” Liu Wenwen said that the instrument in her hand gave her a lot of energy, and she felt that she was born to belong to the stage. “As soon as I got to the stage, or a When I entered the music rehearsal process, I felt that I didn't care about all the nerves at all, and I was completely immersed in my own music."
Liu Wenwen at the Sydney Opera House
On the stage, Liu Wenwen's skills are superb, she The sound of the suona reproduced the sounds of hundreds of birds in the concerto. The superb performance skills are beyond the borders of the country, showing the heritage of a generation of traditional ethnic musical instrument families. Among them, what impressed the audience was that they played "A Hundred Birds Pay Attendance to the Phoenix" without breathing for 40 seconds. "This is a very important technique for wind instruments: circular breathing." Liu Wenwen told reporters, "Mastering this technique requires In terms of understanding, some people may not be able to find the trick after practicing for many years, but sometimes they suddenly understand that it may be related to talent."
In addition to her strong professional skills, Liu Wenwen was performing "A Hundred Birds Pay Attendance to the Phoenix" at the Sydney Opera House. I also designed some other little ingenuity. "I remember one time someone told me that he was nibbling chicken feet, and then the person next to me said that the chicken feet tasted delicious. It suddenly occurred to me that this chicken is actually a bird." An accidental conversation made Liu Wenwen thought of the life-like scene of "a rooster crows and a hen lays eggs." After discussing with teacher Tan Dun, she grafted this sound effect clip into "A Hundred Birds Pay Attention to the Phoenix". "This kind of sound can be heard all over the world." I understand." Liu Wenwen said that after the performance, the audience responded very enthusiastically.
Suona, as a traditional Chinese folk musical instrument with a strong local flavor, how can it be better integrated into diverse stages? In Liu Wenwen's view, in order to move to a bigger stage and let more people recognize our own national musical instruments, we must first integrate them with the most familiar local music forms. "Just like the foreign wind instruments, even if they are played together, they can't suppress the sound of the suona. Instead, they can enhance the high-pitched and loud momentum of the suona very well, and the suona will not feel abrupt." At the same time, she I believe that using such a fusion form to appear on the foreign music stage is an effective way to quickly enhance the image of our national music.
Talking about the journey of exploration that she has experienced now that she has officially taken over as the inheritor of Suona, Liu Wenwen bluntly said that her current conditions are much better than those of her parents at that time, but as the times develop, she will also have to try More possibilities. "Because no one has walked this road before, I don't know how I will go in the future, but by constantly chatting with many friends and experts in the music industry, they will also give me a lot of inspiration." Liu Wenwen said, She previously gave a special concert with suona and jazz quartet. Not only was it their best-selling concert in recent years, but compared to the past, most of the attendees were young people. But when a reporter asked if she would continue to do this kind of performance that integrates popular music forms, Liu Wenwen believed that although this method can indeed attract more listeners, as a people's teacher, especially as a descendant of the suona family , she hopes that while innovating, she should also take into account her persistence in traditional art.
Liu Wenwen Concert
is a successor and a teacher
leaving more time for Suona
Art as the unity of aesthetic subject and object based on practice can satisfy people's spiritual life, and Suona is no exception.Liu Wenwen said: "I especially need this kind of spiritual comfort. In the industry we are engaged in, your efforts will be greatly rewarded. For example, if you hold a concert, you can show it in front of many audiences. , then you will gain a lot of recognition from everyone for your efforts, and they will either praise you directly or give you advice, and you will continue to improve yourself."
For today's Liu Wenwen, study Suona no longer feels like a job has been completed, but more like a muscle memory deeply embedded in the mind. Speaking of the time she spends dealing with Suona, Liu Wenwen said bluntly that she does this every day, "Because I am an Aquarius, I am very imaginative. For example, watching a drama or chatting with friends about something can suddenly arouse my interest in Suona." When I have some ideas, I will immediately implement them and figure out what this thing is." Not only that, sometimes some inspiration suddenly comes to her in the middle of the night, and she must figure it out immediately. Liu Wenwen said that her current state may also be related to her personality.
was asked about the difference between children learning suona today and what she faced when she was the same age at the time. Does it still require some talent to learn? Liu Wenwen said frankly: "It's completely different." She recalled that when she was a child, she could not help but feel nervous and fearful every time she faced the teacher, so that she would speak cautiously. However, nowadays students are basically very cautious when getting along with teachers. They chatted like friends. Liu Wenwen said: "In fact, this way of getting along is quite good, and it is obvious that these children are really proud to learn suona." But regarding the issue of talent, She told reporters: "Actually, the threshold is not particularly high. As long as you are not tone-deaf, everyone is welcome to learn suona."
During the chat, Liu Wenwen also talked about how she viewed her recent popularity on the Internet. She said that she does not reject the attention that many netizens are paying to her. “I see that there are many non-professional people on the Internet who post videos or live broadcasts by playing suona. No matter what their purpose is, at least they attract more people.” People are paying attention to suona, and I think this is a good thing." She said, hoping to promote traditional art through the power of the Internet.
cover Q&A
cover news: Teacher Tan Dun is a very famous performer in the industry. What is it like to work with him?
Liu Wenwen: I think Teacher Tan is a noble person in my life. We didn't know each other before, but one time his friend came to me to record a recording. After I went there, I met Teacher Tan in the recording studio. He was also surprised that a girl played the suona. After I finished recording, he said I was quite satisfied with my skills. Later, during the chat, he learned about the history of our family, and then Teacher Tan said he would take me on a world tour to tell my Chinese story.
cover news: Do you have any tour arrangements in China recently?
Liu Wenwen: Yes. There are currently 4 games scheduled, starting from April, in Beijing, Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.
cover news: Nowadays, many people are paying attention to Suona. Is there anything particular about choosing Suona?
Liu Wenwen: As long as you find a professional manufacturer, suona is actually very cheap and inexpensive, so the cost of learning suona is not high. Because the audience of suona is still relatively small, it does not have the big manufacturers of international brands, but now the production technology is very mature in all aspects, so compared to Western instruments, you can buy it for a few thousand yuan at a very high price. The quality is amazing.
Text/Cover News Trainee Reporter Wang Yili
Editor/Cui Wei
