Concert

Chinese Guqin music, with a profound history spanning at least 3,000 years, has been confronted with the collision and struggle between traditional heritage and innovation over the past century. The inner aesthetics of the classical era and the life impulse brought about by the contemporary period of scientific and technological changes continue to influence the artist’s thinking and foster creative inspiration. The review, study, and reconstruction of the repertoire of traditional music and art are an inevitable main task for musicians of the present time. Simultaneously, it represents an internalization and rethinking of the trilogy of poetry, rationality, and philosophy.

Artists’ short bios

Cheng Hongyu is a Guqin player and a guest professor of Guqin at Southwest University in Chongqing, China. She resides in both Germany and China and is actively engaged as an “Artist in Residence” in Dongbuzhou. She received her musical education at Nanjing University of the Arts, where she studied under the guidance of her father, Professor Cheng Gongliang, a Guqin master and composer. Starting to play the Guqin at the age of 7, she was encouraged by her father to preserve and share the Chinese musical tradition. Later, she studied musicology in Germany, developing a versatile perspective on music. Her calm and atmospheric playing style has been recognized with numerous awards, including inclusion in the Bestenliste der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for her album “Immanence.” Cheng Hongyu also serves as a co-producer for the label “Paranojazz-Record.”

Rainer Granzin is a versatile German jazz pianist, organist, composer, and producer who has collaborated with musicians worldwide since 1992, developing an innovative listening style. He composes music ranging from solo piano to orchestral works for stage, film, and theater. He independently oversees all his recent productions in his own recording studio and under his own label, Paranojazz-Records. Granzin can be heard on over 40 CD releases, whether solo, with his ensemble, or as a guest musician. His recent compositions include works like “When Will the Moon Come” and “Song of Water,” showcasing his broad musical talent. Granzin’s body of work also includes film scores, including soundtracks for documentary series like “Legends of Industry” and the film “Matteo Ricci.” In 2020, he received a guest professorship at Southwest University in Chongqing, China. His trilogy “Immanence,” released on CD in collaboration with Cheng Hongyu, was honored in 2022 in the World Music category by the German Schallplattenkritik. Currently, he is active as an “Artist in Residence” in Dongbuzhou, China.