Pipa Dreams in Imperial Garden

Pipa Dreams in Imperial Garden (2018) for solo piano, is an attempt to capture something of the essence of the Chinese lute. The pipa is a strummed and plucked, pear-shaped instrument, with four strings (typically tuned A D E A), characteristically using frequent fast tremolo with all of the right fingers repeatedly plucking a single string.

It also uses much dramatic vibrato and wide portamento – sadly unavailable to us pianists. But, like the piano, the pipa is a very expressive instrument, and this piano piece aims to capture some of its distinctive gestures and idiosyncrasies. 6-7 minutes. Advanced.