Wu Fei's Music Daily

Hi everyone, I recorded this solo vocal and guzheng improvisation yesterday, a sequel to the previous piece #973 —Sunrise song 高漠日出 . I was stunned by all the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park in California two weeks ago. One type of the rocks is called Penguin rock (photo below). Hope this piece brings you a moment joy into your weekend. Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.com | hellogoldmountain.com | w...

Hi everyone, This solo guzheng improvisation was recorded yesterday after I took a walk in the forest near my home in Nashville and saw a bunch of cicadas (photo below). They must be members of Brood XIX, or Brood 19. In 1898, entomologist Charles Lester Marlatt assigned Roman numerals to 30 different broods of cicadas that come out of hibernation periodically to graze and mate and make a noise. S...

Hi everyone, Buddha beebalm is a two-track guzheng composition. I wrote and recorded the piece yesterday inspired by the eastern beebalm flower that is blossoming in the forest near my home in Nashville (photo below). The plant is native to the central and southeastern United States. The flowers of eastern beebalm produce copious quantities of nectar which attracts bumblebees and other long-tongue...

Hi everyone, How have you been? I have just returned home to Nashville after a week-long artist-in-residence at Lou Harrison House in Joshua Tree, California. This solo guzheng improvisation was recorded yesterday inspired by this amazing trip. Here’s a little background about Lou Harrison and Harrison House: Lou Harrison (1917–2003) was an American composer, music critic, painter, and creator of...

Hi everyone, This three-track guzheng composition was created and recorded yesterday, inspired by the sunset colors in Nashville last night (photo below). Hope this piece brings you a moment of peace into your weekend. If you are in Southern California , I will be doing a week-long artist residency at Lou Harrison House in Joshua Tree next week. I hope to see you at my concert on April 25th with 2...

This solo guzheng night song was recorded yesterday, inspired by the fire pink flowers and the birds in the forest of west Nashville. The fire pink is a wildflower in the pink family and native to North America. It is known for its distinct brilliant red flowers. Fire pink begins blooming in late spring and continuing throughout the summer. I wish my camera could capture the amazing redness of thi...

Hi everyone, This multi-track guzheng piece was composed and recorded yesterday, the Qingming Festival 清明节. The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day and Ancestors' Day, is a traditional Chinese festival observed by ethnic Chinese in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. A celebration of spring, it fa...

Hi everyone, This solo guzheng étude was created and recorded yesterday to celebrate the first swim of the year! For friends in New York City, hope to see you at this concert of mine below: Lincoln Center, NYC — Wu Fei and Shanir Blumenkranz April 11, Thursday | 7:30pm EDT I am excited to have a phenomenal guest musician - Shanir Blumenkranz (Silk Road Ensemble) to join me on the oud, double bass...

Hi everyone, Thank you for subscribing Wu Fei's Music Daily! Your support is immensely appreciated whether you have been with me from my first episode on May 3, 2020 or from yesterday. I love this time of the year in Nashville. Everyday is a new day with new flowers, wild animals, and sunshine in the forest. I spotted Carolina spring beauties on my hike yesterday. How elegant they are (photo below...

Hi everyone, This piece was a two-track guzheng work built on the harmonics of the open strings. Yesterday, my daughter took me to a spot in the forest where she saw a new kind of blossom for the first time (photo below). They are wild cherry blossoms. One thing I’ve learned living in nature is that wild flowers change every spring. There will always be new blossoms that we never had before. So ev...

Hi everyone, This piece was composed and recorded yesterday, inspired by an evening walk I had with friends a week ago in Gent, Belgium. After a meal at an Italian restaurant (owned by an amazing chef from southern Italy), my friends and musical collaborators Sarah Yu Zeebroek and Geoffrey Burton took me for a stroll. In the gorgeous medieval city of Gent (also spelled Ghent), many offices, homes...

Hi everyone, How have you been? I am back in Nashville from Belgium. I am enjoying the sunny spring day in Tennessee though I do miss the wonderful collaborations I had during my residency at Handelsbeurs Concert in Gent. It was so lovely to see old friends and meet new friends. The House of Wu Fei has been born and I can’t wait to bring this project to other places in the world! Today I recorded...

Hi everyone, I have missed you all! My concert residency at the Yale Schwarzman Center last week was inspiring. I met many new friends from giving presentations at: * The Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School * Yale School of Music students * Yale’s Asian American Cultural Center * New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative I was also given an eye opening tour at the Wu Tsai Institute of Ya...

Hi everyone, This piece was created and recorded yesterday on two-track guzheng. By the time you open this newsletter, I will be on my way to New Haven, Connecticut. On March 2, Saturday, 7:30-9:00pm, I am giving a concert with my dear music collaborator Abigail Washburn at the Yale Schwarzmen Center. More details here . You can hear our album “ Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn” on Smithsonian Folkways...

Hi everyone, This three-voice guzheng composition was recorded yesterday, the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. Last night, the bright moon rose high and lit up the entire forest (photo below). It was the first full moon of the Year of the Wood Dragon. Spring is the season to plant seeds. I am excited to share my new music residency that will take place in Europe from March 10-18, 2024...

Hi everyone, This piece was created and recorded yesterday February 22, 2024. Nine years ago on this day, my husband and I and our two babies moved to the United State from Beijing, China. Our daughter was two and half years old, and our son was only three months old. It has been an amazing nine years making Nashville our home. My parents also joined us from China just before the pandemic, and the...

Happy Monday everyone, I created and recorded this three-track guzheng composition yesterday inspired by the spring energy in the forest. Everything is coming back to life. Last week, I saw a frozen snake waking up from hibernation. It just lay there not moving (in photo) waiting to become softer and warmer. What a process one’s life can be! “The plan for the year lies in the spring” 一年之计在于...

Hi everyone, This guzheng étude was created and recorded yesterday. I designed a new scale to try different tone colors. My hands played an octave apart mostly striking the same pitches with occasional different pitches. When the pitch changed unexpectedly, there was a delayed surprise in my hearing. At the same second, it triggered me to shift volume from one hand to the other. I felt like a pend...

Hi everyone, This piece was written and recorded yesterday. It will be the last one before the lunar new year changes to the Year of the Wood Dragon on Saturday, February 10! You can hear my excitement in the piece. The dawn sky yesterday morning was magnificent (photo below). I truly hope the new year will bring much more peace, health and laughters to you all! 祝大家龙年吉祥如意，事事顺心。See y...

Hi everyone, I have missed you all very much! The residency in Winnipeg last week was an absolute delight! I met so many people and made new friends who came to both of my concerts. Winnipeg is a very special place and I’d love to present my work there again. Please see the photos (some are from my phone, some are sent by audience members):  1. Judith Lavitt (born in Shanghai in 1941), left China...

Yesterday, I hiked up the hill in the morning at the lowest temperature that I have ever experienced in Nashville: -14 Celsius or 6.8 degrees Fahrenheit. It was beautiful to see the white forest under the sun and the clouds (photo below). I stood at this spot and thought about the rewards of doing something difficult. I hope this piece brings you a moment of joy. My Canada debut is coming up next...

Hi everyone, I am snowed in in Nashville. It is the biggest snowfall since I have been living here. It is -9 Celsius now in the middle of the day. I hope you are all staying warm or cool wherever you are! Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.com | hellogoldmountain.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wufeimusic.substack.com/su...

Hi everyone, I composed this multitrack guzheng piece yesterday, performed by me. I was inspired by a poem written by Li Bai (701 - 762 A.D.), one of the most famous Chinese poets from the Tang Dynasty. The poem is called The Waterfall of Mount Lu 望廬山瀑布: 日照香爐生紫煙，遙望瀑布掛前川。 飛流直下三千尺，疑是銀河落九天。 My translation: Sunlight shines on the incense burner and illuminates its...

Hi everyone, Happy holidays to you all! By the time you receive this newsletter, I will be on my way to New Zealand to be with family members in the southern hemisphere. It has been another wonderful year for me sharing my daily thoughts and music with you. Thank you for being here with me, and I hope my music has brought joy to your life. I made this medley recording yesterday. All the folk melod...

Hi everyone, I want to thank the new paid subscribers in the last week! Your support is very much appreciated it! This new two-track guzheng piece was composed and recorded yesterday. I was inspired by playing with a dear friend - a banjo maser Béla Fleck last week in Nashville where we both call home. It was a rare occasion that we got to just improvise as a duo. Banjo has five strings. In this r...