A Contemporary Pipa Master Living Overseas - Gao Hong

陈自明

中央音乐学院教授

中囯音協世界民族音乐学会会长陈自明先生

侨居海外的当代琵琶大师—高虹

（Translated by Sophie Liu-Othmer）

高虹从八岁就开始学习琵琶，1985年在河北艺术学校毕业留校任教，1986年—1990在中央音乐学院民乐系学习，师从著名琵琶大师林石城，毕业后去日本研习日本琵琶一年，即去美国和世界各囯演出、並在美国的卡尔顿学院教学直至现在。

Gao Hong began learning the pipa at the age of eight. In 1985 she graduated from Hebei Art School and stayed on to teach there. From 1986 to 1990 she studied in the Folk Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of the famous pipa grandmaster, Lin Shicheng. After graduation she moved to Japan to study Japanese biwa for one year. Since then, she has performed in the United States and around the world, and currently teaches at Carleton College in Minnesota.

高虹当然精通中囯传统的琵琶曲，但她更具有广阔的全球性视野，对多元化的世界音乐充满了兴趣，並且亲自參预其中，与不同的音乐文化和乐器进行接触。或模仿、对話或混合、融合、其中有印度的西塔尔琴、维纳琴、阿拉伯的乌德琴、日本的尺八、美国的板卓琴、西方的巴松、小提琴、黑管等。並与爱尔兰音乐、美国的兰草音乐、爵士音乐、布鲁斯音乐合作演出。这些都大大扩展了中国传统音乐对广大观众的影响，进入了西方主流音乐的领域，而不像以前只局限在华人圈内。

Gao Hong is certainly an expert in Chinese pipa music, but she has a broader global perspective and a wide interest in diverse world music. To experience different musical cultures and their instruments, she has learned to hold dialogues by mixing and integrating her pipa with masters of the Indian sitar and veena, Arabian oud, Japanese shakuhachi, American banjo, western bassoon, violin, clarinet, and others. She collaborates and performs with a wide variety of musicians, including performers of Irish music, bluegrass, jazz, and the blues. This has greatly expanded the influence of traditional Chinese music on audiences, and has helped to embed it in mainstream western music, instead of being limited to predominantly Chinese audiences.

与印度西琴尔琴演奏家拉奥合演的《早晨》是很有意义的。因为在1983年印度音乐大师拉维香卡訪华时，曾向我表示他与西方音乐大师梅纽因的西塔尔琴与小提琴合奏是《东方与西方相迂》，引起了轟动。下一步將是《东方与东方相迂》。他希望用西塔尔琴与中国的琵琶或古筝合奏，这将是另一个创举。但是由於种种原因，他的这个愿望一直未能实现。

Her "Morning" performance with Indian sitar player Shubhendra Rao is a significant accomplishment, because when Indian music master Ravi Shankar visited China in 1983 he told me that his sitar and violin collaboration with western music master Yehudi Menuhin was like "East Meets West". His use of this phrase triggered a sensation. He then shared that he felt the next step should be when “East Meets East", and he hoped to play the sitar with the Chinese pipa or guzheng. For various reasons, his dream did not come true.

1997年高虹与拉维香卡的学生拉奥Shubhendra Rao用琵琶和西塔尔琴共同表演了印度拉格的作品《早晨》拉维香卡听到后曾表示这是“我听到的最好的跨界合作音乐”可以说受到了拉维香卡的肯定和赞赏。这是一次成功的《东方与东方相迂》，是应该載入史册的。

However, in 1997, Gao Hong and Ravi Shankar's student, Shubhendra Rao, used the pipa and sitar to perform an Indian raga called "Morning". Ravi Shankar said it was "the best cross-cultural music I have ever heard". It can be said that it has been affirmed and appreciated by Ravi Shankar as a successful "East Meets East" example, which should be noted in the history books.

高虹演奏的这些跨文化的作品常是没有乐谱的，经过長期的探索、历练后，她具有了高水平的即兴表演能力，而这正是一般演奏家难以做到的。

These cross-cultural works performed by Gao Hong often do not have musical scores, but after lengthy experimentation and practice, she has acquired a high level of improvisational skills, which are difficult for ordinary performers to achieve.

实际上，高虹还是一位作曲家，她曾应明尼苏达交响乐团邀约创作琵琶協奏曲《广西印象》，也应邀约明尼苏达Sinfonia创作了序曲《庆典》，明尼阿波利斯流行乐团创作了琵琶与小提琴协奏曲《杨柳青青》以及受Kenwood交响乐团邀约创作了琵琶与巴松協奏曲《故园情》。並在中央音乐学院举办的纪念贝多芬誕辰250周年的綫上国际音乐节上，创作並表演了以贝多芬音乐主题的原创作品《田园即兴隨想》。以上这些作品都已演出並获得了成功。

Gao Hong is also a composer. She was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra to compose the pipa concerto Guangxi Impression, by the Minnesota Sinfonia to compose the overture Celebration, by the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra for her pipa and violin double concerto Green Willow Tree, and by the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra the pipa and bassoon double concerto Reminiscences of My Hometown. In the online international music festival held by the Central Conservatory of Music to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, she composed and performed her Impressions of the Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven. All of these works have been successfully premiered.

但是，高虹另一个重要的身份是教育家，她長期在卡尔顿文理学院（又名小哈佛）的音乐系工作，担任学院民乐团、世界音乐乐队的艺术总監。並在卡尔顿学院建立了可以用中国民族乐器作为主修乐器攻读音乐专业和音乐辅助专业并获得文学学士学位。

Another important component of her identity is that of an educator. She has worked in the music department of Carleton College (nicknamed Little Harvard) for 21 years, serving as the director of the Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble and the Carleton Global Music Chamber Ensemble. She was also instrumental in establishing a program in which a student at Carleton College can use a Chinese musical instrument as their major instrument to achieve a major or minor in music for a Bachelor of Arts degree. This was the first opportunity of its kind in an American institution of higher education.

2016年高虹还应約、出版了一本用英文写的《琵琶教程》，己向50多个国家发行。这在世界上也可能是首次。

In 2016, Gao Hong also authored the book, Chinese Pipa Method, which was written in English, published by Hal Leonard, and sold in more than 50 countries. This may also be the first of its kind in the world.

总之，高虹在美囯20多年，由于她在音乐方面作出的杰出贡献 ，得到了几十次獎项，在此就不多说了。

Gao Hong has been in the United States for more than 20 years and has won numerous awards for her outstanding contributions to music. I will not list her awards and honors here. (translator’s note: See Gao Hong's Awards and Honors)

高虹与他的恩师林石城关係非常好，林石城对她精心培养，对她照顾得无微不至，她有病时林老师（中医）还为她診断、开药。她也真心地热爱林老师。

Gao Hong had an excellent rapport with her mentor Lin Shicheng (1922-2005), and she is devoted to Master Lin. Lin Shicheng carefully nurtured and guided her, both professionally and in health. When she was ill, Master Lin -- who was also a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor -- diagnosed and prescribed medicine for her.

1996年在北京首次举行了“林石城、高虹师生音乐会”。随后在美国各地举行了两个月的巡迴演出。並彔制了一张名为《海青拿天鹅》的師生琵琶专輯。林石城对这次的调音非常满意，希望將來能向全世界发行。

In 1996, the "Lin Shicheng and Gao Hong Teacher-Student Concert" was successfully premiered in Beijing and then performed during their two-month tour in the United States. A teacher-student pipa album titled Hunting Eagles Catching Swans was produced. Lin Shicheng was very satisfied with the recording and hoped to release it to the world.

2020年，高虹与英国的ARC唱片公司联系后，当年9月公司就向全球50多个国家发行了这一专輯，並获得了全球音乐奖最佳专辑和最佳器乐两项金奖，也实现了林老师的愿望。

In 2020, after Gao Hong contacted the British ARC Music (a leading record label and publisher in the field of world and folk music, translator’s note), it rereleased the album in more than 50 countries around the world in September of the same year. The album won two gold medals respectively for Best Album and Best Instrumentals from the Global Music Awards (http://www.blobalmusicawards.com, translator’s note). Lin's wish was fulfilled.

专輯共收入10首乐曲，其中《十面埋伏》《海青拿天鹅》《秋思》为林石城老师独奏。《龙船》《陈杏元和番》《霸王卸甲》《平沙落雁》为高虹独奏。《三六》《行街四合》《春江花月夜》为师生兩人合奏。

The album contains a total of 10 pieces of music, among which "Ambush in All Directions", "Hunting Eagles Catching the Swan", and "Autumn Thoughts" are solo performances by Master Lin Shi Cheng. "Dragon Boat", "Chen Xing Yuan Placates the Tribesmen", "King Xiang Yu Takes off His Armor" and "Wild Geese Alighting on a Sandy Beach" are Gao Hong's solo performances. "Three Six", "In the Style of Xing Jie Si He", and "Moonlight Over the Spring River" were teacher-student duets by Master Lin and Gao Hong.

我反复聆听了专輯，欣赏了这些经典作品，使我为之惊叹、欽佩的是林老录音时已屆高龄，但技艺之高超、音色之美妙、歆味之独特…在他演奏的乐曲中表现得淋漓尽致，不愧为琵琶大师。

I listened to the album over and over again and appreciated these classic works. What amazed me most was that Grand Master Lin was already at an advanced age when he made the recording, but his skill was superb, the sound was beautiful, and the taste was unique. In the music, his performance was incisive and vivid, and it is truly a work by a grandmaster.

高虹作为林老的真传弟子，全面继承了老师的技巧、风格和传统。出色地演奏了这些名曲。而在师生两人合奏的乐曲中，更是水乳交融、渾然一体，达到了很高的境界。

As a true disciple of Master Lin, Gao Hong fully inherited her teacher's skills, style, and tradition. Her performance of these famous pieces is outstanding, and the duets are even more harmonious and integrated to attain the highest level.

陈自明

2022年 2月14日写于北京

February. 14, 2022， Beijing