Draft:Liu Changfu
Chinese erhu performer, educator and composer (born 1944)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liu Changfu (Chinese: 刘长福; born August 1944) is a Chinese erhu performer, educator and composer. He is a senior professor and postgraduate supervisor at Central Conservatory of Music. Liu was the first erhu performer in mainland China to obtain a master's degree.[1]
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Liu Changfu | |
|---|---|
刘长福 | |
| Born | August 1944 (age 81) Tianjin, China |
| Occupations | Erhu performer, educator, composer |
| Organizations | Central Conservatory of Music |
| Known for | Erhu pedagogy; huqin-family compositions |
Early life and education
Liu Changfu was born in Tianjin in August 1944. In an oral history interview published by the Central Conservatory of Music, he described growing up in a railway worker family and developing early interests in music and painting. [2]
Liu entered the Central Conservatory of Music's primary school in 1955, initially studying clarinet, and later transferred to erhu. According to the Chinese Music Archive state, Liu studied in the Central Conservatory of Music youth programme (later the affiliated middle school) from 1956 to 1963. [3] He described studying with teachers including Nie Jingyu (Chinese: 聂靖宇), Ding Dang (Chinese: 丁珰), Zhang Shao (Chinese: 张韶) and later Lan Yusong (Chinese: 蓝玉崧) during his conservatory-affiliated school years. [2]
Career
Teaching in Inner Mongolia (1963 to 1979)
After graduating in 1963, Liu taught erhu at the Inner Mongolia Arts Institute (now the Inner Mongolia Academy of Arts). During his years in Inner Mongolia he studied local folk songs and regional instruments (including morin khuur and sihu), as well as local theatre traditions, and these experiences later influenced his performance and composition. Liu studied composition with Xin Huguang (Chinese: 辛沪光) [2] and he continued teaching in Mongolia until 1979. [3]
Postgraduate study and Central Conservatory of Music faculty (from 1979)
Liu Changfu returned to Beijing in 1979 to sit restored postgraduate entrance examinations, describing requirements that included a performance programme alongside aural and written subjects. [2] Liu studied with Lan Yusong and graduated in 1981, after which he remained as faculty until retirement. [3]
Master's degree and thesis (1981; 1988)
Liu defended his master's thesis in 1988 based on his article Erhu performance: stylistic techniques (Chinese: 二胡演奏中的风格性技巧), receiving a master's degree in music performance (erhu). [2] The Central Conservatory of Music describes him as mainland China's first erhu performer to obtain a master's degree. [1]
Performances, lectures and adjudication
Liu has given solo concerts and lecture activities at multiple institutions and venues and served as a judge for erhu competitions organized by national cultural and media bodies. [1] His jury work has included competitions sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, China Central Television and the Chinese Musicians Association. [4] He has travelled for performance and exchange to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and to countries including Canada, Japan, Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Tanzania, Burundi and Seychelles. [2] He has appeared in recital and lecture events at Hong Kong City Hall, Sha Tin Town Hall (Hong Kong), Victoria Concert Hall (Singapore) and the Macau Concert Hall. [4]
Media coverage
Chinese and overseas broadcasters have featured Liu in various interviews and special programmes. These include programmes by China Central Television, Beijing Music Radio, television stations in Hong Kong and Singapore, Wuxi Television, and Kaohsiung Broadcasting Station in Taiwan, China National Radio, China Radio International, Beijing Television and China Education Television. [4]
Professional associations and guest professorships
Liu has held roles including Chair of the Advisory Committee of the China Musicians Association Erhu Society, Vice Chair of the China Musicians Association Liu Tianhua Research Society, and Honorary Chair of the Huqin Professional Committee of the Chinese National Orchestra Association. His biography on the Central Conservatory of Music page also lists guest professorships at institutions including Xi'an Conservatory of Music, Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Inner Mongolia Academy of Arts and Xiamen University College of Arts. [1]
Invitations for teaching, lectures or academic exchange have brought Liu to City University of Hong Kong, Shenyang Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Shanxi University Conservatory of Music and Tainan National University of the Arts. [4]
50th-anniversary teaching concert and symposium (2013)
In October 2013 the Central Conservatory of Music held an event titled "弦上春秋" marking Liu's 50 years of teaching. [1] An event listing describes the activities as consisting of a teacher-student concert and a teaching symposium. [5] The event has been rendered in English translation as "The Spring and Autumn on the Strings: Professor Liu Changfu's 50th Anniversary Teaching Achievement Performance Concert and Academic Symposium". [4]
Selected students
At the Central Conservatory of Music, Liu Changfu's students have included Zhao Ge (Chinese: 赵戈), Tang Feng (Chinese: 唐峰), Ye Qiang (Chinese: 叶强), Yu Hongmei (Chinese: 于红梅), Ma Xianghua (Chinese: 马向华), Liu Yang (Chinese: 刘扬), Lin Gan (Chinese: 林感), Zhu Jiangbo (Chinese: 朱江波), Sun Huang (Chinese: 孙凰), Sun Ting (Chinese: 孙婷), Han Shi (Chinese: 韩石), Zhou Tingting (Chinese: 周婷婷) and Duan Chao (Chinese: 段超). The same biography states that several students won prizes or placed highly in domestic and international erhu competitions. [1]
Works
Selected compositions
Works attributed to Liu include: [1]
- New Herdsmen in the Grassland (Chinese: 草原新牧民), erhu solo
- Apricot Blossom Shadow (Chinese: 杏花天影), erhu solo
- Reminiscence (Chinese: 怀念), zhonghu solo
- Thoughts Beyond the Frontier (Chinese: 塞外情思), zhonghu solo
- Rain in the Yao Mountains (Chinese: 瑶山雨), gaohu solo
- Grassland Little Sisters (Chinese: 草原小姐妹), gaohu solo
- Seeing Off the Harvest Grain (Chinese: 喜送丰收粮), banhu solo
- Mountain Village Festival (Chinese: 山乡节日), banhu solo
New Herdsmen in the Grassland and Thoughts Beyond the Frontier have circulated widely in performance in China and abroad. [1]
Teaching and pedagogy
In his oral history, Liu described a teaching method organised around four stages: "basic technique", "applied technique", "stylistic technique", and "musical expression and creation". He also discussed interdisciplinary reading (including psychology and aesthetics) and advocated targeted training that addresses weaknesses while supporting individual artistic development. [2] The Central Conservatory of Music has summarized his approach as promoting a sequence of basic technique, applied technique (including stylistic technique) and musical "second creation", and also mentions concepts described as "root carving" (Chinese: 根雕) and "first remedy weaknesses, then develop strengths". [1]
Publications and teaching materials
The Central Conservatory of Music credits Liu with publishing research and teaching materials on erhu technique and performance, including articles such as Erhu performance: stylistic techniques (Chinese: 二胡演奏中的风格性技巧), Technical application of erhu bowing (Chinese: 二胡弓法的技巧性应用), Position changes in erhu performance (Chinese: 二胡演奏中的换把问题), The performance art of Liu Tianhua's erhu works (Chinese: 刘天华二胡曲的演奏艺术), and On imagery in erhu performance (Chinese: 谈二胡演奏中的形象思维). [1]
Liu’s oral history and biography also list method books and curricula including Children Learn Erhu: Introduction (Chinese: 儿童学二胡入门), Learn Erhu with Famous Teachers (Chinese: 跟名师学二胡), and Systematic Progressive Etudes for Erhu (Chinese: 二胡系统进阶练习曲集), as well as conservatory teaching repertoire collections and graded examination tutorials. [2][1]
A book listing for Systematic Progressive Etudes for Erhu records Liu Changfu as curriculum compiler for the People's Music Publishing House. [6]
Publications attributed to Liu also include a monograph titled Selection of Erhu Playing and Teaching Essays (Chinese: 二胡演奏教学文选). [4]
Recordings
Naxos provides an English-language biographical note describing Liu's studies, his teaching at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Arts, and his return to the Central Conservatory in 1979 for research and postgraduate work with Lan Yusong. [7]
Over the years, Liu has recorded and released multiple audio and video publications, including personal albums and teaching demonstration materials (for example CDs, VCDs and other instructional media) issued by audiovisual companies in China and overseas. [4]
Scholarship
A 2025 doctoral thesis at University College Cork examines erhu training, performance and music creation in the global era and includes Liu Changfu among five prominent erhu musicians discussed in the study. [8]
Biographical listings
Biographical listings attributed to Liu include entries in publications including Chinese Contemporary Art Circle Who's Who, Chinese Cultural Talents Dictionary, Chinese Educational Experts' Dictionary and Chinese Musicians' Dictionary, as well as a "World Who's Who" published in Cambridge. [4]