Wu Fei's Music Daily

It has been raining in Nashville. The rain inspired me to warm up my fingers on double guzheng. My left hand played a 3-finger rotating technique when my right hand played the long tremolos. The two guzhengs were tuned slightly different. That is how I hear the rain — sometimes the rain drops emerge into one pitch, some time the pitch split into hundreds of different pitches depending on the inten...

This 3-track guzheng piece was created and recorded yesterday after I saw these golden fungi in the forest. They are called Neofavolus alveolaris. It is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. According to Wikipedia, it is widely distributed in the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Its kidney- or fan-shaped fruit bodies measure 1–8 cm (0.4–3.1 in) in diameter. Initially...

Dear all, I am excited to share this piece that I composed and recorded on multitrack guzheng yesterday. I will be flying to Washington D.C. to play my last concert of 2022 when you receive this newsletter. The concert will be held at The National Gallery of Art, West Garden Court at 3pm EST on December 18, 2022. Concert info is here . After this concert, I will be traveling to New Zealand to be w...

This multitrack guzheng etude was composed and recorded yesterday by me. I was inspired by the pink snowberry (photo below) I encountered in the forest while hiking two days ago. According to Wikipedia, snowberry is a resilient plant able to withstand a variety of conditions. Snowberry plants are most commonly found in forests, dry or moist openings, rocky hillsides or near riverbanks and streams....

I am excited to share a podcast interview I did with CapRadio host Majel Connery. It is the most in-depth interview I have ever done talking about my life, childhood, drive and determination needed to succeed as a woman in the classical music industry. It is an honor for me to be featured on this new NPR series with five amazing women composers — Sarah Kirkland Snider, Nathalie Joachim, Angelica N...

This solo guzheng improvisation was recorded yesterday. After a very dry year in Nashville, the creek had water again after a whole night of rain (photo below). I wish it would rain much longer so the creek would be full enough to have water falls back. I miss the sound of water falls. It is calming and cleansing my dear drums and brain. Later in the day, I learned that without air, humans would s...

Happy Friday everyone! I composed and recorded this multitrack guzheng piece yesterday, inspired by this moment when I gazed at a window from my home. I said to myself if my home was an envelope, this sight would make a perfect stamp. Hope it brings you a moment of energy into your weekend! Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.comTwitter @wufeiInstagram @wufeimusicYouTube @wufeimusic This is a public episode. I...

This solo guzheng improvisation was recorded yesterday. I was thinking about the people who have been protesting on the streets all over China against the zero Covid lockdown during my thanksgiving weekend in my peaceful west Nashville home. It has been a heart breaking weekend as I could not ignore what was happening to my birth city and country. As the world has been returning to normal, I have...

Happy thanksgiving to you all who celebrate this holiday! Wish you a peaceful long weekend with friends and family if you are with them. I will return to my daily post next Monday. This guzheng piece was created and recorded yesterday when I thought of the time I spent in Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage site in Essen, Germany earlier this month. The giant chimney was quite amazing to look up from...

I had a lovely time playing a concert in Gent, Belgium two weeks ago. The city was as fascinating as I remember when I played there in 2009. I felt like I was in a fairy tale world again surrounded by castles and dreamy lights. The lights (photo below) were from the dinner I had at Ha Concerts where I played later that night. This guzheng etude was composed and recorded yesterday inspired by the l...

The hills of Bellevue in west Nashville were covered by frost flowers this morning (photo below). A frost flower or ice flower is formed when thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter. The thin layers of ice are often formed into exquisite patterns that curl into "petals" that resemble flowers. Once again, I was amazed by the magic of nature. How can I not...

Dear all, I have returned home in Nashville from a wonderful 2-week tour in Europe and Midwest U.S.A.. It has been a non-stop traveling on planes, taxis, trains, bus, touring van etc.. I got to see old friends in Germany and Belgium. I made new friends in Chicago and Des Moines. How grateful I am for my family being loving and supportive of me so I get to play music all over the world! Hope this n...

Dear all, Hope you are enjoying a wonderful fall or spring season! I recorded this improvisation yesterday from my home studio in the sunny Nashville, Tennessee. In contrast, I was thinking about some of the music I knew that was created during war time inspired by a conversation with a dear friend recently. As my departure to Europe approaching, I would like to share the a few concert dates I hav...

Friends in Essen, Germany & Ghent, Belgium, I’m excited head your way soon in early November to record new music/play with: - Fred Frith 🇬🇧 - Susana Santos Silva (trumpet 🇵🇹) - Anantha Krishnan (mridangam, tabla 🇮🇳) - Marque Gilmore (drums, electronics 🇸🇪) Concert info (🇩🇪) : https://www.zollverein.de/kalender/fred-frith-friends-clearing-customs English translation: Concert as part of the festival...

Yesterday, a dear friend brought me a gorgeous instrument called Rubab (photo below). It was shipped from Afghanistan to the U.S. a few weeks ago. It bitter-sweet so see such a treasure leaving its homeland,. However, it was hidden by a music maker to escape the chaotic and unpredictable future. I fell in love with the instrument and wrote this piece on guzheng inspired by rubab’ s beauty and hist...

This solo night song was created and recorded yesterday. After a few busy days looking after family members, I needed a calm tune to retune myself into the weekend. If you or your friends are in/around Oxford, Mississippi area on Saturday evening, I am giving a solo concert + Q A at Water Valley. You can find more details here . Thanks to Becca Finley for putting the show together. Becca is the co...

There have been a lot of turkey tail mushrooms in the forest of west Nashville (photo below). Turkey tail is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', versicolor reliably describes this fungus that displays a variety of colors. For example, because its shape and multiple colors are similar to those of a wild turkey. I decided to create / record this vocal...

This solo guzheng piece was created and recorded yesterday, inspired by a little hover fly (photo below) that hung out with me while I worked out on my back porch. According to Wikipedia: “Hover flies (aka flower flies or syrphid flies) are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae eat a wide range of foods. In some s...

Inspired by quantum mechanics, I composed this multitrack guzheng piece yesterday. Yesterday, I read an article - Pioneering Quantum Physicists Win Nobel Prize in Physics on Quanta Magazine. As a life-long math & science fan, I found the theory and experiments of the entangled particles breathtaking. The article explains well how I hear pitches and their relations within in a whole music compositi...

I wrote and recorded this guzheng piece yesterday. It started on a fast etude, ended on a spacey night song style. Hope it brings good energy to your Monday. Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.comTwitter @wufeiInstagram @wufeimusicYouTube @wufeimusic A pillow from our local Publix Pharmacy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wu...

This guzheng multitrack composition was created and recorded yesterday. I shared the photo below with my sister-in-law who lives in New Zealand. She was surprised by how large the pumpkins were. Wish you all a beautiful weekend! Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.comTwitter @wufeiInstagram @wufeimusicYouTube @wufeimusic This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...

Shanah Tovah! 犹太新年快乐。This 3-track guzheng piece was created and recorded yesterday evening when Rosh Hashanah 2022 started, marking the beginning of the year 5783. May the new year be full of peace and joy! Wu Fei 吴非 Wufeimusic.comTwitter @wufeiInstagram @wufeimusicYouTube @wufeimusic Wild ironweed blossoms are all over west Nashville. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss th...

I am excited to share that I have finished orchestrating the full symphony version of my chamber ensemble work Hello Gold Mountain . I am sure I will revise more later, but the beast is there! It will be premiered by Lehigh University Symphony Orchestra at Baker Hall in Zoellner Arts Center on February 11th, Saturday 7:30pm, 2023. A symphony work is a universe itself, full of surprises, adventures...

This solo guzheng improvisation was recorded yesterday. I was inspired by the bees, the butterflies and the flowers that I walked through on top of the hills of Charlotte Pike in Nashville. I was over joy by how many wild lives I saw, especially the wild bees. They were calm, almost lazy. You’d think the bees would attack you if you are nearby. Not at all. At least not these bees. They were incred...

Two days ago, I wrote a piece inspired by the goldenrod soldier beetles. Yesterday, I wrote a piece inspired by the devil’s nettle (photo below) — the best friend of goldenrod soldier beetles. The plant is blossoming like crazy all over the forest in west Nashville. I never knew that flowers could be blossoming in autumn much more than the spring. I was so excited by the followers that I challenge...