Music Talks

Ye Yunchuan, executive producer of Rhyomi Music, takes us on a musical journey to southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to explore its sacred landscape, fascinating culture, and wealth of music.

We have previously introduced several classic Chinese instruments. Many are famous for their unique tonality, texture and flavor, and are able to portray certain scenarios that can’t be reflected by others. Some good examples are the birdlike chirps made by the Chinese flute, imitations of flowing water by the 21-stringed zither and horse gallops as recreated by the two-stringed bowed fiddle. In t...

In our last episode, we had Mr Ye Yunchuan on our show. He is an award-winning music producer and founder of one of China's most prestigious recording labels, Rhymoi Music. Since starting Rhymoi in 2003, Ye has aimed to produce first-class Chinese music with distinctive national and ethnic characteristics. In addition, his years of cooperation with international music production and publication ci...

Ye Yunchuan is an award-winning music producer, Grammy member, and founder of one of China's most prestigious recording labels, Rhymoi Music. He is one of the fairly important figures who have impacted Chinese music in various ways. Today, let’s join Mr Ye for inspiring stories, thoughts, and Rhymoi’s distinct musical pieces that you couldn’t hear elsewhere.

The earth is the only home for all humans and as many as 8.7 million different forms of life. In recent decades, there have been increasing calls and popular initiatives around the need to protect and save our planet. Earth Day is a typical example, which falls on April 22nd each year since 1970. As we mark Earth Day, five celebrated composers and musicians join us in this edition in the hope of u...

The sound of recorders in the air. A special concert is held in Ruiliang cave of Chuanshan Town in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. With no amplifying equipment, the cave itself serves as a naturally brilliant concert hall where pupils from a local elementary school take the centre stage. A year ago, these kids from humble backgrounds had no concept of musical notes. Now they are letting their sk...

Honoring deceased family members is a common practice in many continents across the globe, such as Day of the Dead, Day of Saints and the Wag Festival, just to name a few. China also has this tradition to cultivate kinship values, filial piety and continuity of lineage. In fact, it is a public holiday called the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4th this year. Families...

Spring has arrived. A favorite for most of us since it’s the time of the year when we can finally say farewell to winter, enjoy more daylight, and feel more uplifted by the natural stimuli the season brings. To echo this cheerful atmosphere, our guest on the show Yang Chunlin brings you several songs about this particular season. Yang is a famed conductor and composer with the China Oriental Perfo...

Previously, Mr Niu Jiandang, the suona master with China National Traditional Orchestra, brought us up close with the instrument that is widely played in rural China. In today's episode, Mr Niu will share with us his musical journey, from which we will hear how this Chinese trumpet changed a teenage boy's destiny. 


Tony has a confession to make that the suona, regarded as the Chinese oboe or trumpet, wasn’t one of his personal favourites. Yet meeting Mr Niu Jiandang, a suona master, Tony has new eyes and ears for the instrument. We hope you do too.

In this edition, we get up-close with Shang Jingya, a guzheng performer and composer with the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, about her innovative way of blending her style of music into Peking opera. Recently, Shang held her major concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the country’s top theater. Our host Tony Reid spoke with her to learn more about her motivation, challenges and ex...

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest, the Chinese New Year holiday comes to its climax with the Lantern Festival. This year, the festival falls on February 26th. So how is this day celebrated and what does this day have to do with lanterns? All in today's Music Talks. Let’s take this time to check out some tunes themed on this special time of the year.

Previously, we have introduced the konghou, which resembles the harp in appearance and tonality. Many say its sound is melodic, elegant and heavenly. In this episode, our host Tony Reid talked with He Xie, a young and talented konghou instrumentalist and composer. We will give you some insight into the latest model of the instrument, referred as the double-strung pedal konghou, which is widely pla...

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the largest festival in China, which celebrates the coming of a new year. A lot of traditional customs prevail during the holiday to boost the festive atmosphere and to wish everyone the best of luck. On this special edition, we invited seven renowned instrumentalists and composers on our show to share with us the unique customs carried out du...

Mr Huang Tianxin(黄天信) is a composer and singer, and Mrs Deng Kun-Rong(邓堃蓉), a lyricist. In recent years, they have become famous for writing and singing songs about their beloved hometown, Chengdu. Previously, we enjoyed some of their songs and had them talk about how they were inspired. Many of their songs, composed with the local musical elements, were even sung in the Sichuan dialect, giv...

Today we have composer and singer Mr. Huang Tianxin(黄天信), and lyricist Mrs. Deng Kun-Rong(邓堃蓉). They have become popular in recent years for writing and singing songs about their beloved hometown, Chengdu. 
Many of their songs are sung in the Sichuan dialect, a very expressive and spicy form of Mandarin. "Though it’s not spoken as much by the younger generation, we always tell our students t...

Mr Kong Hongwei is the leading and most prestigious jazz pianist and composer in China. Nicknamed as "Golden Buddha', Kong’s musical pieces, naturally combine Chinese folk elements with modern Jazz, vividly depicting everyday life. Previously, Mr. Kong spoke on his journey in music and we heard some representative songs selected from his most notable album “The Summer Palace", which unfolds his im...

Previously, we’ve introduced health and wellness music by the famed erhu instrumentalist Liu Ziwei, which coincides with the core concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In this episode, I sat down with Ms Liu and talked about what difficulties and changes she had experienced over the past ten years.

Today we have Mr Kong Hongwei, the leading and most prestigious jazz pianist and composer in China. Nicknamed as "Golden Buddha', Kong’s musical pieces, naturally combine Chinese folk elements with modern Jazz, vividly depicting everyday life. For this episode, the songs we will hear were selected from his most notable album “The Summer Palace", which unfolds his impression of Beijing.  Song Lists...

Previously, we’ve introduced health and wellness music by the famed erhu instrumentalist Liu Ziwei. Liu explained how her music is able to influence listeners’ health and why listening to certain songs at different periods of the day is beneficial at alleviating particular symptoms. In this episode, we continue with Liu Ziwei as she sheds more light on the effects of listening to erhu music for he...

Celebrate the final days of 2020 with a mashup of music and best wishes from the maestros of the classical genre! Hear from the ‘King of Chinese instruments,’ experience throat singing from the Mongolian Plains, and get into the ‘chillax’ mode with the konghou or Chinese harp. Music Talks hosts Tony & Niu Niu meet up with China's finest as they give sensational performances and share songs to ushe...

Hey there! Join us on a New Year digital concert and meet China’s most elite instrumentalists. Watch us live on December 31st, 10 am Beijing Time. You'll find us on China Plus's official Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Weibo accounts. You can also find a special podcast version on all major podcast platforms. Just search “Music Talks”. Let's celebrate the New Year with Chinese music together!

Boyong is a kind of traditional folk song in the Bomi Couty in southern Tibet. Inherited by word of mouth, it developed into a unique art form. Today, we have Yangzong, the inheritor of Boyong from Bomi County to talk about this music in Tibet. Song lists: 1. The Galsang Flower 格桑花 2. A Small Village 小村庄 3. The Leaf of Walnut Tree 核桃树叶 4. Dress Up 我要盛装 5. A Handsome Boy 阿若罗琼次仁...

Research shows that music is very powerful and it has the ability to affect people in a number of ways, namely, their mood. Have you ever heard of listening to music to improve your health and wellness? In this episode, the founder of health and wellness music Liu Ziwei explains how her erhu music has the capacity to improve listener’s wellness based on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Theatric dance is a comprehensive art form, consisting of choreography, music, stage design and costumes. Music in this field is supposed to give rhythmic support or enhance the movements of the dancers and highlight the identities or features of the characters. In this episode, we will introduce some renowned theatric dance music, written by famous composer and instrumentalist He Yuan. Our host T...