July 13–31, 2016

This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.

Public support for Festival 2016 is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

July 23 Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

Lincoln Center Festival lead support is provided by American Express

An Evening with Wang Li Jew’s Harp, Calabash Flute

and

Wu Wei Sheng

This performance will have no intermission.

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2016WANG LI & WU WEI

Program (performance order and selections are subject to change)

The Chant of Stars

Overtone Dance I. Autumn

Far away to Home

Overtone Dance II. Summer Wind

Overtones of the Sky

Seismic Echo

Sun and Snow

Dragon Dance

Morning Prayer

Overtone Dance III. Spring

Overtone Dance IV. Winter Heart

Five Leaf Clover

Away

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2016WANG LI & WU WEI

About the Jew’s Harp

“He is overflowing with happiness. Hetakes me for a walk playing the Huang,how joyful!”

—Jun zi yangyang in the Shi jing wang feng (Book of Odes), 500 B.C.

The Jew’s harp, one of the most ancientmusical instruments, is also one of themost mysterious. Found in many culturesand traditions around the world, this simpleinstrument goes back so far in time that itis endowed with a magical essence. Onedescription of the Chinese Jew’s harp, or“Huang,” is found in a dictionary from thesecond century that defines its use as wellas its crafting from bamboo and metal.Although it disappeared from central Chinain the 14th century, it still exists in mostareas. In some southwestern regionsyoung girls use the Huang to express theirfeelings to their beloved; there, the Huangis considered a feminine instrument.

About the Calabash Flute

Most commonly found among the Dai peo-ple of Southern China, Laos, and Vietnam,the calabash flute (or hulusi) is a predeces-sor to the sheng—it has a similar reed sys-tem, but it normally has three pipes and canonly play one note at a time. Its trademarktrait is its large (and often ornatelydesigned) sounding chamber, the calabash(hulu) itself. Depending on the player’stechnique, the hulusi can traverse reed andreedless sounds, with a clarinet-esquequality in the lower register and hints of theWestern concert flute on the high notes.

About the Sheng

The sheng’s sound is versatile—withoutseeing it, one could easily mistake it for anaccordion, a pipe organ, or even an entirechorus of wind instruments—but it is infact a single bundle of bamboo pipes,bound at the bottom by a metal bowl. Eachpipe contains a free reed, which invokesorgan-esque sound that seems so familiarto Western audiences. This combination ofpipe and free reed—which the sheng wasthe first instrument in the world to use—ismanipulated by both inhaling and exhaling:The air pressure excites a flexible reedaffixed to a frame, and sound is producedwhen the reed vibrates against the frame.Though the sheng was only introduced tothe West in the 13th century, its existence(or at least the existence of free reed)might predate that of the Jew’s harp, withdepictions of similar instruments datingback to at least the mid-3rd century B.C.The sheng also holds an important place inthe history of music theory, as it estab-lished the basis for our modern 12-tonesystem of pitches. One pipe of the shengproduces a basic pitch called the “YellowBell” (yellow being the color of theemperor), a tone that was calculated oncommission by Ling Lun. Found in a 239B.C. record, the mythical story tells of Lungoing into the wilderness to find this basisnote. In his travels he heard twophoenixes: the male sang six notes and sodid the female. Lun tuned bamboo pipes tothese tones, thus establishing his system.

The Pieces of Sound

The limitation of the 12 tones available tomost Western musicians can sometimesprove a conundrum for those trying to cre-ate innovative material, especially for thosewho stay within the bounds of tonal har-mony. Many musicians are criticized forusing tired and clichéd chord progressionsand scales, but none of the cynics woulddeny that it is very difficult to manipulateour friendly Western chords in wildly newways. But certain artists, including Wang Liand Wu Wei, have accessed anotherdimension of chords and pitches: the over-tone. If chords and scales are the horizontaland vertical aspects of music, the overtonemight be considered the depth of sounditself. As it turns out, a “note” is not just anote—each one can be picked apart intoseveral pieces. There is an acoustic expla-nation for this, but it is best demonstratedby experimenting. The next time there is apiano handy, try pressing down the C twooctaves below middle C, but very softly, sothat it does not sound. While you hold itdown, use your right hand to quickly andforcefully slide up the white keys (don’t beafraid to let out your inner Billy Joel).Though you just struck many strings insidethe instrument, all that remains is a hum-ming, ethereal C chord. These notes youhear are the components of that low C, andtogether are called the “overtone” or “har-monic” series. Whenever the low C isplayed, those remaining strings vibratesympathetically, giving the C its full color.Of course we do not discover new notesoutside our 12 tones when we play over-tones, but the quality of their sound is sodelicate and outstandingly different from

the “fundamental” pitches (the low C inour case) one normally plays on an instru-ment that they may as well be new onesaltogether. A player can access the over-tone series on many instruments—a tal-ented saxophone player can achieve thistimbre by manipulating his or her lips, andcan even create the effect of playing multi-ple notes simultaneously (listen to JohnColtrane’s “Harmonique”). And perhapseven more mystifying are the Tuvan throatsingers, who can sing chords, emitting achilling whistle octaves above the funda-mental. And of course the Jew’s harp andthe sheng are not excluded from exploringthe overtone series. To put into perspectivehow much time can be spent manipulatingthis concept, Wang Li and Wu Wei’s albumis called Overtones. In many of tonight’ssongs (they will perform their entirealbum), they will extensively explore justone pitch; but by accessing its overtoneseries, they create a thin melodic timbrethat helps us appreciate the complex bodyof a note. For example, listen to the twang-ing of Wang Li’s Jew’s harp on the song“The Chant of Stars.” He remains on a sin-gle E for the whole song, yet we hear somuch more than that—its components—but even though the notes are varied, theystill feel connected to the fundamental E,almost as though they extend out of it asthe sound decays. Such is the jarring effectof overtones. While many musicians takeon the aforementioned plight of limitedchords with new, dissonant combinationsof notes, Li and Wei go in the other direc-tion: one note can be enough, as it holdssome striking contents.

—Gabriel Mizrachi

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2016WANG LI & WU WEI

About the Artists

Wang Li (Jew’s harps, calabash flute) wasborn in Tsingtao, a port city on the YellowSea. He grew up playing Jew’s harp andlater played bass in Western-influencedbands in college. After he graduated heentered an austere French monastery, tak-ing shelter with the fathers in St. Sulpice atIssy-les-Molineaux. During his time at themonastery he discovered a new, intimate,contemplative vision for the Jew’s harp.Upon leaving the monastery after fouryears, he studied jazz at the ParisConservatory and became fascinated withimprovisation. He then began travelingthroughout his native region, learning fromlocal musicians, and mastering circularbreathing and the subtleties of the Jew’sharp. He also plays the calabash flute, anancestor of the sheng, made of a gourdwind box with melody and drone pipes ofbamboo. In addition he has collaboratedwith Yom, an accomplished klezmer clar-inetist—united by their shared energy anda hunger for spirituality and mysticism—towhich they bring a supremely elegant formof virtuosity. He has performed at LincolnCenter’s White Light Festival in 2012, TED2013 in California, Paléo Festival in Nyon(Switzerland), Théâtre des Abbesses inParis with Wu Wei, Jazz à Vienne Festival,globalFEST in New York, Kennedy Centerin Washington, folk music festivals inRichmond, Viljandi, and Nantes, and India’sWorld Sufi Spirit Festival. His discographyincludes solo albums Chine Guimbarde(2006) and Rêve de Sang (2010) and hiscollaborations with Yom, GreenApocalypse (2012) and Past. Present.Future (2014).

Wu Wei (sheng) studied the sheng at theShanghai Conservatory and was a soloistwith the Shanghai Chinese Orchestrabefore being awarded a scholarship tostudy at the Hanns Eisler School of Musicin Berlin. As well as numerous national andinternational Chinese music competitions,he won the German world music competi-tion, Musica Vitale, in 1996 and 2002, theGlobal Root World Music Prize in 2004, anda Herald Angels Award at the EdinburghInternational Festival in 2011. He has per-formed as a soloist with BerlinPhilharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic,Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and theBBC Symphony Orchestra, under conduc-tors Kent Nagano, Gustavo Dudamel, IlanVolkov, and Myung-Whun Chung. He hasperformed in music festivals including theBerliner Festspiele, Dresden MusicFestival, Munich Biennale, DonaueschigerMusiktage, Musica Viva Munich, WarsawAutumn, Suntory Music Foundation’sSummer Festival, Bartók Festival inHungary, Festival Archipel in Geneva,Musik Triennale in Cologne, and theHolland Festival. By creating new tech-niques, exploring a modern repertoire, andcombining different genres and styles, hehas made a major contribution to the trans-formation of this millennia-old instrumentfor the contemporary music world. JohnCage, Unsuk Chin, Toshio Hosokawa,Enjott Schneider, Jörg Widmann, GuusJanssen, Tan Dun, Qigang Chen, GuoWenjing, and Huang Ruo are some of thecomposers who have entrusted him withthe world premiere of over 300 works(including ten concertos for sheng andorchestra), many dedicated to him. In addi-tion to performing worldwide, he is a pro-

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2016WANG LI & WU WEI

lific composer for the sheng.Lincoln Center Festival, now in its 21stseason, has received worldwide attentionfor presenting some of the broadest andmost original performing arts programs inLincoln Center’s history. The festival haspresented 1,422 performances of opera,music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinaryforms by internationally acclaimed artistsfrom more than 50 countries. To date, thefestival has commissioned 43 new worksand offered 143 world, U.S., and New Yorkpremieres. It places particular emphasis onshowcasing contemporary artistic view-points and multidisciplinary works thatchallenge the boundaries of traditionalperformance. For more information, visitLincolnCenterFestival.org.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts(LCPA) serves three primary roles: presen-ter of artistic programming, national leaderin arts and education and communityengagement, and manager of the LincolnCenter campus. A presenter of more than3,000 free and ticketed events, perfor-mances, tours, and educational activitiesannually, LCPA offers 16 series, festivals,and programs, including American Songbook,Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist pro-gram, David Rubenstein Atrium program-

ming, Great Performers, Legends at LincolnCenter: The Performing Arts Hall of Fame,Lincoln Center at the Movies, LincolnCenter Emerging Artist Awards, LincolnCenter Festival, Lincoln Center Out ofDoors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project,Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly MozartFestival, White Light Festival, the EmmyAward–winning Live From Lincoln Center,which airs nationally on PBS, and LincolnCenter Education, which is celebrating 40years enriching the lives of students, edu-cators, and lifelong learners. As manager ofthe Lincoln Center campus, LCPA providessupport and services for the Lincoln Centercomplex and the 11 resident organizations:The Chamber Music Society of LincolnCenter, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazzat Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School,Lincoln Center Theater, The MetropolitanOpera, New York City Ballet, New YorkPhilharmonic, New York Public Library forthe Performing Arts, School of AmericanBallet, and Lincoln Center for the Per -forming Arts. For more information, visitLincolnCenter.org.

AcknowledgementsSound EquipmentProduction Resource Group

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2016WANG LI & WU WEI

Looking Ahead: The National Ballet of Canada’s The Winter’s Tale

From July 28–31, the National Ballet of Canada will perform Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography for The Winter’s Tale. Several of Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted for ballet, but Wheeldon (An American in Paris) is the first to take on this wildly unpredictable plot, which turns sharply between tragedy and comedy. With a Tony-studded creative team including Bob Crowley (sets and costumes) and Natasha Katz (lighting design)—both of An American in Paris and Once fame— a fickle story of kings awaits. The Telegraph (U.K.) calls it “impossibly beautiful.”

For more information and a complete schedule of Lincoln Center Festival events, visit LincolnCenterFestival.org.

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Looking Ahead: 1927’s Golem

From July 26–31, Paul Barritt and Suzanne Andrade’s 1927 comes to Lincoln Center Festival with its production of Golem, a modern recasting of the 19th century Prague tale of the man-made servant gone askew. In 1927’s production, the Golem is a wildly successful product of a tech startup, putting the story into modern context. Things start going awry when one Golem begins making unwelcome (but intriguing) suggestions to its owner. The Charleston City Paper calls Golem an “eye-ravishing extravaganza,” while the Guardian (U.K.) claims:

“anyone interested in theatre must attend.”

For more information and a complete schedule of Lincoln Center Festival events, visit LincolnCenterFestival.org.

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