Chinese
Pipa Poetics: Li Hui and the Pipa Dance Chamber Ensemble
About the performance
Li Hui brings the Pipa Dance Chamber Ensemble to SHOAC's recital hall for one night: ten pieces, three of them world premieres. Li Hui founded the ensemble at the Central Conservatory in 2007 and its players are her former students, now spread across the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, the China National Traditional Orchestra, the China National Song and Dance Ensemble and several conservatories, reconvening when there is a programme to play. The group does one thing above all: it commissions new pipa ensemble music and gives the first performances. Its 2018 record was the first album by a pipa chamber ensemble; a second is due this year, carrying Liu Tianqi's Lord of the Clouds from this programme. The evening is built around poetry. Yu Yitong's Plain Strings, for pipa and guqin, takes its title from a line of the Song poet Wu Wenying. Li Bochan's Late Autumn points at Xin Qiji's famous closing line about saying nothing and remarking on the weather instead. Liu Tianqi's Lord of the Clouds comes from the Nine Songs of the Chu Ci. At the centre sits the ancient Moonlit Night on the Spring River in Gu Guanren's arrangement for five pipas, which divides across the group what one instrument normally carries alone. Wang Yunfei's Wusheng goes the other way: it stages a Peking opera fight scene, using the right hand to imitate the opera's percussion, and is the least poetic thing on the list. The three premieres are Yu Yitong's Plain Strings, Wang Rui's Rainbow Skirt, Feathered Robe and Liu Tianqi's Startled Swan. One caveat: the presenter published the programme marked "subject to change on the night", so the final order and contents may differ. Neither the running time nor whether there is an interval has been announced.
Program
Traditional Chinese 中国传统
Moonlit Night on the Spring River (pipa quintet)
《春江花月夜》（琵琶五重奏版）
For pipa quintet, arranged by Gu Guanren.
Performers
- Soloist, Pipa
- Li Hui
- Ensemble
- Pipa Dance Chamber Ensemble
Tickets
Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Official site
¥180 · ¥280 · ¥320
- Limit 6 tickets per order
- Name-registered ticket and entry
- Children under 1 m are not admitted; children over 1 m need their own ticket.
Same night
See the whole monthSaturday, November 28, 2026: 6 other concerts
Location
425 Dingxiang Road
Metro Line 2 — Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, 5 min walk
Provenance
Data Source: Official channels of each presenter (websites, ticketing systems, public announcements)
Last Checked: Aug 23
Cite this page
“Pipa Poetics: Li Hui and the Pipa Dance Chamber Ensemble.” Shanghai Concerts, https://shanghaiconcerts.com/en/concerts/haishang-yayue-pipa-poetics-li-hui. Checked 2026-08-23.