About
My artistic identity
I am a pipa soloist, trained at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, performing internationally since 2015 and currently based in Berlin, Germany. My work brings together classical solo repertoire, contemporary music and selected collaborative formats in a concert-focused context. Today, my work is shaped by an ongoing dialogue between tradition and the present – developed through an international concert practice and attentive listening, with a strong sense of form, depth and musical presence.
Lucy Zhao
About the Pipa
The pipa as an expressive concert instrument
The pipa is a traditional Chinese necked lute with a history of more than 1,500 years. It is characterized by its flat, pear-shaped body, often crafted from hardwoods. Today, the pipa typically has four steel strings, commonly tuned a–e–d–A, and 24 to 30 frets – a construction that enables an exceptionally wide spectrum of tone colors and expressive possibilities. The instrument’s name refers to two fundamental stroke directions of the right hand: “Pi” (琵) and “Pa” (琶) denote strokes in opposite directions.
About
My artistic identity
I am a pipa soloist, trained at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, performing internationally since 2015 and currently based in Berlin, Germany. My work brings together classical solo repertoire, contemporary music and selected collaborative formats in a concert-focused context. Today, my work is shaped by an ongoing dialogue between tradition and the present – developed through an international concert practice and attentive listening, with a strong sense of form, depth and musical presence.
Lucy Zhao
About the Pipa
The pipa as an expressive concert instrument
The pipa is a traditional Chinese necked lute with a history of more than 1,500 years. It is characterized by its flat, pear-shaped body, often crafted from hardwoods. Today, the pipa typically has four steel strings, commonly tuned a–e–d–A, and 24 to 30 frets – a construction that enables an exceptionally wide spectrum of tone colors and expressive possibilities. The instrument’s name refers to two fundamental stroke directions of the right hand: “Pi” (琵) and “Pa” (琶) denote strokes in opposite directions.