05MUSICAL ENCOUNTERS
Sometimes a story begins with a few words.
Friends and musical exchanges recalled by the chair.
FROM REORGANISATION TO GROWTH
Turning encounters into shared work.
The partnership between Feng Tang and Yu Tian has grown into the shared work of the Society, its presidium and artistic team. Yu Tian contributes to the Society’s operations, Liu Yutong (Tong Jie) leads teaching and research, and collaborators bring performance, composition, rehearsal and music technology into the work.
Li Li’s early encouragement, conversations about musicology with Tong Jie and a project invitation to Han Yicheng are moments in that story. Shared time has not always followed shared ideas. With some projects deferred, the present focus is on research and artistic work, gradually developing questions from the dissertation into classes and exchanges.
A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION · LI LI
An early word of encouragement
I got to know Li Li relatively early. Looking back, she was the first to encourage me to move forward. That encouragement is one of the moments I want to remember when reflecting on my path into music.
A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION · LIU YUTONG
A conversation about musicology
Liu Yutong, known to us as Tong Jie, is the Society’s Head of Teaching and Research. Meeting her was a chance encounter. She once asked me about musicology, while her own studies focus on Kunqu composition at the secondary school affiliated with the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. Our different paths offer different starting points for talking about music.
A NAME IN THE STORY · HAN YICHENG
From curiosity to a project invitation
My initial questions were simple: how do music critics work, and what does studying musicology involve? Later, I approached Han Yicheng about developing a project together. People’s schedules did not align, and the idea remained on hold. It was an invitation that has yet to become a project, and one of many musical ideas I have considered.
06OUR STORY
Notes from the practice room
Meeting, listening and continuing to make music together.
Literary vignettes adapted from 痛恨交织, weaving together life and fiction.
01One piece, different temperatures
Anyi and Wujiu listen to the same passage of Debussy. One follows the breath of a phrase; the other draws the temperature of the sound. The page offers another way of listening, rather than a single answer. A conversation in the practice room can begin with a simple question: what did you hear?
02From score to rehearsal
Music on a page passes through parts, markings and repeated attempts before an ensemble gives it a shared voice. In the story, one person revises the notes, another prepares the parts, and another helps with the next entry. Their work meets when they play together.
03Keeping the sound
One person tries a passage at the piano while another records. Listening again turns fleeting colours, pauses and breaths into details they can discuss. Recording becomes a tool for exchange, alongside the process of listening, revising and working together again.