Despite her parents' pressure to study music, after 30 years, Liu Wenwen became the first person to have a master's degree in suona in China.
Chinese artist Liu Wenwen (34 years old) is the first person in China to have a doctorate in suona. In addition to performing, Liu is also a lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (China). In January, she had an excellent performance at the Golden Hall Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, making a strong impression on international audiences.
Liu Wenwen, the first person to earn a doctorate in suona in China. (Photo: SCMP)
The 34-year-old artist was born into a family of traditional suona players in Shandong Province, China. Her father was a 7th generation suona player and her mother was a 12th generation suona ka opera player, which uses musical instruments to imitate human and animal sounds.
An only child, Liu started learning suona at the age of 4. Every day, her parents would wake her up at 4-5am and "drag" her to the park near their house to practice the instrument.
Liu was very resistant to her parents' orientation because her friends often teased her that her family was "full of trumpet players for weddings and funerals." However, she changed her attitude after hearing famous Chinese artist Liu Ying, a lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, perform.
At the age of 13, Liu Wenwen had the opportunity to meet her idol Liu Ying through an introduction and began receiving direct lessons from the male artist. Every weekend, she and her mother traveled the long distance from Shandong to Shanghai to learn to play the trumpet. At that time, her mother could only afford to buy a seat and a standing ticket on the cheapest night train, and spread newspapers on the floor so that Liu could sleep during the trip.
The 34-year-old artist amazed audiences around the world with her performance. (Photo: Weibo)
Liu and her family's efforts paid off. In 2008, she was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. After earning a bachelor's degree in suona, Liu went on to earn a master's and doctorate, graduating in 2023.
However, in 2017, Liu Wenwen performed solo on many international stages, with the classic suona Hundreds of Birds Playing Homage to Phoenix. She incorporated her ka opera skills into the performance and imitated the sounds of roosters crowing and hens laying eggs, which amazed the international audience.
Since 2018, she has been a lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and is determined to inspire love for the suona among young Chinese people.
Liu has held solo concerts lasting more than an hour, which requires a lot of stamina, especially for suona. Previously, Liu practiced 10-12 hours a day. Now, with her busy schedule, she has reduced her practice time to at least 6 hours a day.
The artist said she got her 8-pack abs thanks to practicing playing the suona every day. According to her, this practice is more effective than physical exercises.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tu-co-be-bi-ep-hoc-nhac-cu-den-tien-si-ken-suona-dau-tien-cua-trung-quoc-ar924675.html
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