At The Awards: Wu Man
Wu Man is the very model of a modern soloist. More importantly, her work is part of a big step in the evolution of Western classical music. The best measure of her achievement is that her instrument, the pipa—a Chinese lute that dates back some 2,000 years—is no longer an exotic curiosity. Symphony audiences have heard her perform concertos by Lou Harrison and Tan Dun. She performs regularly with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the Kronos Quartet, as a soloist in Bang on a Can marathons, and in chamber groups and orchestras giving the premieres of works by Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Chen Yi, and Bright Sheng, who have written pipa parts into their works with her sound and dexterity in mind.
Read Allan Kozinn’s tribute to Wu Man
Musical America’s Edna Landau, left, interviews
Wu Man, 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year.
2013 Instrumentalist of the Year Wu Man
accepts her award
Features Editor Sedgwick Clark, 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year Wu Man
2013 Composer of the Year David Lang, 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year Wu Man, Jesse Rosen, League of American Orchestras
2013 Instrumentalist of the Year Wu Man, Earl Blackburn, Opus 3 Artists
Leah Rankin, Shuman Associates; Wu Man, Earl Blackburn , Opus 3 Artists; Tania Leong, Opus 3 Artists
2013 Instrumentalist of the Year Wu Man is interviewed by the press