Liao Zilan (; born c. 1970) is an international concert circuit performer on the

guzheng The zheng () or gu zheng (), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''Paulownia'' wood. Other co ...

(Chinese zither). She has performed at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, and has toured internationally. She also participated at the

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

Recording Week in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Liao began to learn the guzheng at the age of three, when she lived in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

(Canton),

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China. By the age of nine, she was winning prizes in China, including the prestigious National Youth Music Competition award. She left China with her family in 1983 for the United Kingdom, where she continued her music studies at the

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education alon ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London. In addition to the guzheng, she also specialises in the Western concert

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

and Chinese traditional dance. Apart from playing traditional music and works written by Chinese composers, Liao also has had composers outside China write music for her, which has widened her repertoire from classical to contemporary and electronic music. She has collaborated with Peter Gabriel and Nigel Kennedy, and worked with African, Indian and European musicians in the Elekoto Ensemble of

Akin Euba Olatunji Akin Euba (28 April 1935 – 14 April 2020), was a Nigerian composer, musicologist, and pianist. Career Born on 28 April 1935 in Lagos, Nigeria, Akin Euba studied composition with Arnold Cooke at the Trinity College of Music, London, o ...

. Her collaborative work with other world artists was released in 1995 on

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at ...

's ''A Week or Two in the Real World'' various artists CD. She has extensively collaborated with her husband,

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

. The piece ''Heaven And Earth'' was released on the CD with the same title by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

in November 1995. She has since contributed both as a musician and cover-art designer to several other of Jah Wobble's recordings, such as ''The Celtic Poets'', ''The Inspiration of William Blake'', ''Elevator Music 1A'', ''Mu'', and ''Alpha One Three''. ''Chinese Dub'', her 2008 project with Wobble, won the Songlines best cross-cultural collaboration album.'' She has also released in Europe and the United States notable solo work, such as her guzheng concertos ''The River'', which she performed with the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

, and ''The Five Tone Dragon''. She also recorded music for the Oscar-winning film ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

''. She has performed with the flutist Laura Falzon and premiered a work for flute and guzheng with her, composed by the Edward McGuire. In 2002, Liao began to work with Welsh

ist

Elinor Bennett Elinor Bennett, Baroness Wigley, OBE (born 17 April 1943) is a Welsh harpist who has an international reputation as a soloist, master instructor, and founded the Harp College of Wales. Biography Bennett was born in 1943 in Llanidloes, Wales. ...

. In 2008, the duo presented compositions for ''guzheng'' and harp by the Welsh composer Bill Connor at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, as part of the Liverpool's European Capital of Culture 2008 programme. Liao is the artistic director of Pagoda Arts in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and teach the children of the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra on various Chinese musical instruments. Since leading the orchestra in 2013, Liao lead the Orchestra performed at the Wales International Harp Festival, performed for Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

during the IBF 2016. She has also been a visiting teacher at Chetham's School of Music and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

References

External links

*
''The Five Tone Dragon''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liao, Zi Lan Guzheng players People's Republic of China musicians Chinese harpists Chinese female dancers Musicians from Guangzhou 1970s births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Place of birth missing (living people) Artists from Guangzhou