Liu Mingyuan (
刘 明 源, pinyin: Líu Míngyuán; 1931-1996) was a prominent Chinese musician, composer, and teacher. He played the Chinese bowed string instruments ''
banhu'', ''
zhonghu'', ''
gaohu'', ''
erhu'', ''
jinghu'', and ''
zhuihu
The ''zhuihu'' ( 坠胡, pinyin: zhùihú; also called ''zhuiqin'' or ''zhuizixian'') is a two-stringed bowed string instrument from China. In construction, it resembles the ''sanxian'', and likely evolved as a bowed version of that musical ins ...
'', among others, as well as the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
.
Biography
Born in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, Mingyuan began studying music from his father and eventually learned to play a wide variety of traditional genres including ''pingju'',
Cantonese music ''Cantonese music'' may refer to:
*The music of Cantonese-speaking peoples, especially:
**Music of Guangdong
**Music of Hong Kong
** Music of Macau
*Cantonese language music, especially Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop mus ...
, and
Beijing opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
.
He composed and arranged several popular ''
guoyue'' pieces, many of which are based on traditional Chinese melodies. Among his best-known compositions are ''Xi Yang Yang'' (喜洋洋), ''Happy Year'' (幸福年), and ''Ten Elder Sisters'' (十大姐). Among his solos for the ''erhu'' are ''Henan Tune'' (河南小曲).
Along with
Liu Tianhua and
Abing
Abing (; 17 August 1893 – 4 December 1950), born as Hua Yanjun (), was a blind Chinese musician specializing in the ''erhu'' and ''pipa''.
Life
Abing was born on August 17, 1893, in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi to father Hua Qinghe, w ...
, Liu is considered one of China's three finest traditional instrumentalists of the 20th century.
References
External links
Liu Mingyuan pageTreasures Of Chinese Instrumental Music, Bowed Instruments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Mingyuan
1931 births
1996 deaths
Chinese male composers
Musicians from Tianjin
Erhu players
20th-century composers
20th-century Chinese musicians
20th-century male musicians