Erhu: Yiwen Lu

Erhu Performer Yiwen Lu is a young erhu teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, a member of the Chinese Musicians Association's National Bowed Strings Society, a member of the Huqin Committee of the Chinese National Orchestral Music Society, and a double gold medalist of the Golden Bell Award and the Wenhua Prize, the highest award in Chinese music. Yiwen Lu studied with Mr. Wang Xiangyang at an early age, and was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music until she graduated with a Master's Degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she successively studied with Prof. Liu Jie, Prof. Chen Chunyuan, and erhu master Min Huifen.

As one of the leading figures in the field of erhu, Yiwen Lu has won various major competitions and honors: in 2012, she won the Gold Medal in the “Shanghai Spring” International Erhu Invitational Competition, and the Best Performer Award in the “Erhu Rhapsody No. 4”. In 2012, she won the gold medal of “Shanghai Spring” International Erhu Invitational Competition and the best performance award of “Erhu Rhapsody No.4”; the highest performance award of Erhu Youth Group in the 4th “Wenhua Award”; the first prize of “Bamboo Valley Cup” International Erhu Competition; the gold medal of the first “Huang Haihu Erhu Prize”; the gold medal of “China's Top Ten New Erhu In 2014, she was awarded the title of “China's New Top Ten Erhu Performers”; in 2015, she won the gold medal of the 10th “Golden Bell Award” Erhu Competition; in 2018, she was honored as the “2016-2017 Chinese Newcomer of the Year”; in 2019, she was selected as one of the “Best Erhu Performers” by CCTV. In 2018, she was named “2016-2017 Chinese Folk Music Newcomer of the Year”; in 2019, she was selected for the “Shanghai Young Literary Artists” program; in 2019, she was awarded the grant of the “National Art Fund Young Artistic Creative Talent Project - Stage Art Performance”. In 2019, she was awarded the “National Art Fund Young Artistic Creative Talent Project - Stage Art Performance”, and successfully held the “Chinese Melody - Dialogue between Erhu and Symphony” solo concert; in 2020, she successfully held more than ten “also heard - also music” Erhu solo concert tour in China, which was highly praised by the performance community.

Highlights of recent seasons include: in the 2021/22 season, Lu Yiwen premiered newly commissioned works for erhu and string quartet with the Neo-Classical String Quartet at the MISA Shanghai Summer Music Festival, followed by a nationwide tour with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra's “Flying Yue” String Quartet and the East Coast Quartet; a concert of “Western Strings and Eastern Qin” with classical guitarist Xuefei Yang and pipa player Ying Sun; and a closing concert at the Beijing International Music Festival with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, in which conductors presented “Western Strings and Eastern Qin”, Yang Xuefei, a classical guitarist, and Sun Ying, a pipa virtuoso, in the concert “West Strings, East Pipa”; with the China Philharmonic Orchestra at the closing concert of the Beijing International Music Festival, under the baton of conductor Tan Dun, she performed the world premiere of Tan Dun's erhu concerto “Fire Ritual - War and Peace”; and with conductor Yu Long and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra she performed Chen Qigang's erhu concerto “War and Peace”. Chen Qigang's Erhu Concerto “The Time That Has Passed” with conductor Yu Long and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; performed in the New Year's Concert with conductor Yu Long and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, presenting Wang Danhong's My Country and Chrysler's Chinese Flower Drums at the Hong Kong Cultural Center and the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong; participated in the Closing Concert of the Shanghai Summer Music Festival 2022, and performed Zhao Lin's symphonic poem “Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains” with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of young conductor Sun Yifan. In the 2022/23 season, in the opening concert of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra for the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and the opening concert of the 2022/23 season, with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the young conductor Yu Long, the world premiere of Chen Qigang's new work, commissioned for the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Erhu Concerto “Sorrow and Joy from the Same Source”, and embarked on the 65th anniversary tour with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra; collaborated again with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra to perform Chen Qigang's Erhu Concerto “Passing Time”; and went to the U.S. in January 2023 to perform Wang Jianmin's “Rhapsody for Erhu No. 2” and Chrysler's “Chinese Flower Drums” with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of young conductor Qian Junping, with videos of her performance on the orchestra's official Her performance video received millions of likes, comments and retweets on the orchestra's official Instagram and Jitterbug channels - breaking the orchestra's social media clicks record. In the same month, she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, interpreting Chen Qigang's Erhu Concerto “Sorrow and Joy from the Same Source” under the baton of conductor Yu Long, and completing the U.S. premiere of this work, as well as being the first to perform a large-scale concerto with the New York Philharmonic. In the 2023/24 season, the orchestra collaborated with the Berliner Philharmoniker String Quintet for the first time on a domestic tour; the Macau Chinese Orchestra participated in the Macau International Music Festival, the China Philharmonic Orchestra participated in the Golden Bell Awards and the “Autumn in Rongcheng” Festival, and the China Philharmonic Orchestra participated in the “Autumn in Rongcheng” Music Festival. In January 2024, the Philadelphia Orchestra will perform the Peking Opera piece “Deep Night” (adapted by Zou Ye) for the first time with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of conductor Yu Long.

Highlights of the 2024/25 season include: in August 2024, Lu Yiwen will make her debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in Chen Qigang's Erhu Concerto “Sorrow and Joy from the Same Source”; in October-November, she will join the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Huang Yi to give the world premiere of Zhou Long's Concerto for Erhu and Orchestra “Nine Songs,” which was co-commissioned by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the Beijing Music Festival; and in November, she will make her debut with the National Grand Theatre Orchestra in “The Same Source”. In November, she collaborated with the National Grand Theater Orchestra for the first time to perform Chen Qigang's erhu concerto “Sorrow and Joy from the Same Source”.

In recent years, Lu Yiwen has been active as a soloist in both domestic and international music arenas, and has collaborated with orchestras such as New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Chengdu Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Qingdao Symphony Orchestra, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, Kunming Nie Er Symphony Orchestra, Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Macao Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Taipei National Orchestra, Suzhou National Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, Jiangsu National Orchestra and so on. Her performances have covered many countries and regions in America, Europe, Africa, Asia and as far as Antarctica, and have been highly praised by all walks of life.

In October 2023, the album “Lu Yi-wen: A Tribute to Love”, recorded with the Bridge Quartet of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra, was released by NCPA Classics, the label of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

Her playing skills are exquisite, her music performance is natural and smooth, her stage infectious force is strong, with its unique artistic charm, and she is good at mastering different themes and genres of works. Between the strings of her bow, one can not only deeply feel the traditional Chinese music playing techniques and sentiments, but also hear many new contemporary erhu works, including her own compositions and adaptations, and savor the fusion of tradition and modernity.

At the same time, she has spared no effort in promoting the popularization and internationalization of the erhu. Since 2018, she has been invited to be the global Erhu product spokesperson for the world's top string brand, Thomastik-Infeld, and the world's top case brand, Bam, adding a touch of fashion and modernity to the Erhu, a classic traditional Chinese instrument.