Composer gives folk music an electric take

Born into a musical family, the 43-year-old began learning to play piano when he was 3 and graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music with a major in composition.

As a professor at the Music AI and Information Technology Department of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Qian is dedicated to the research into modern electronic music compositions. When the school established the department in 2019, which involved three majors, Qian was assigned to lead the composition major at the modern electronic music center.

"Research into electronic music composition offered me a broader vision of music," he says. "The latest technology allows me to make unique sounds, which are very different to traditional music."

However, he also notes that technology only supports musicians in realizing their musical ideas and that the core of music still lies in creativity.

He recalls a memorable trip to the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, when he was invited to write songs for a musical, titled Braided Soul, by working with an art troupe from the prefecture.

He spent two months living in the mountainous area, which allowed him to record folk songs performed by residents, and especially elderly Tibetans and Qiang people.

The musical premiered in 2019, and is based on the true story of the 2,000 Tibetan and Qiang soldiers who fought against foreign invaders in 1842, and features about 120 minutes of his music.

The compositions combine the folk songs and musical instruments of the Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups, with contemporary music, like electronic music, and portray the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers. The musical has toured nationwide since its premiere and, so far, has been staged over 70 times.

"I really enjoy going out to listen to different music because the country is so big, and has a long tradition of music. That music, original and raw, has a spirit of its own. What I want to do is to use technology to bring it to life and make it fit into the contemporary world," says Qian, who now is working with the Beijing Dance Academy on a new project about Lin Huiyin (1904-55), a noted 20th-century architect and intellectual.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn