Famous pipa player and educator
Member of China Musicians Association
Consultant of the Pipa Professional Committee of the Chinese National Orchestra Society
Director of Shanghai Pipa Society
Soloist of Hong Kong Modern Chinese Orchestra Elite
劉桂蓮
著名琵琶演奏家、教育家。中国音乐家协会会员、中国民族管弦 乐学会琵琶专业委员会顾问、上海市琵琶学会理事、香港现代国乐精英团独奏家。 加拿大籍。 刘桂莲毕业于世界著名的中央音乐学院并留校任教，同时担任该院民族管 弦乐团弹拨乐首席和独奏家;亦曾任教于上海师范大学，担任该校艺术学院音乐 系器乐教研室主任、硕士研究生导师。 早在 20 世纪 80 年代，刘桂莲就由中国文化部破格晋升为高级职称，桃李 满天下，被中国教育部遴选为“跨世纪拔尖人才”。演出、比赛、创作颇丰，获 奖无数，音像出版物发行与传播甚广，代表中国音乐家协会出访 30 多个国家和 地区，荣获中国文化部授予的“(国家级)优秀演员”殊誉，被中外媒体广泛赞 誉为“琵琶诗人”、“琵琶大师”。 吴祖强、王次炤、刘德海、林石诚盛赞刘桂莲是“琵琶演奏家当中的佼佼 者”，卡拉杨、斯特恩、梅纽因、小泽征尔对刘桂莲更是夸赞有加!刘桂莲还出 演了奥斯卡最佳影片“From Mao to Mozart”的琵琶女主角，银幕形象至今 历久弥新、光彩照人。近年来合作过的音乐家、团体和音乐厅有彭丽媛、闵惠芬、 汤沐海、王甫建、俞丽拿、吕思清和上海民族乐团、香港民族乐团、澳门民族乐 团、加拿大 BC 中乐团、中央乐团、中国电影乐团以及柏林爱乐乐团音乐厅、阿 姆斯特丹皇家音乐厅、英国 BBC 音乐厅、加拿大 UBC 音乐厅、北京音乐厅、上海 音乐厅等等，邓小平、尼克松、叶利钦、范文同、田中角荣、西哈努克等多国元 首观看过刘桂莲的精彩表演。 定居温哥华以来，刘桂莲与多个交响乐团以及不同族裔的民族乐团合作， 演出足迹遍布全球。在温哥华创办非牟利机构“明珠乐苑”并亲自出任艺术总监， 致力于传播中华文化，培养门徒无数，举办了多场音乐会。学员们连续多年均参 加加拿大主流社会之“KIWANIS 音乐节”，硕果累累，成绩骄人，囊括琵琶独奏、 重奏、器乐组合等各组别比赛的金银奖牌，其中更有得意弟子勇夺该音乐节(西 洋音乐与中国音乐)之总冠军。在历届中央音乐学院海外(北美地区)考级中， 她的学生都以 95 分以上的好成绩，名列前茅。同时，刘桂莲在加拿大不列颠哥 伦比亚大学音乐学院兼课并指导其中乐团。 近几年，刘桂莲担任了“敦煌杯”中华全国琵琶大赛、中国·辽源国际琵 琶艺术节、香港学校音乐节、台湾民族器乐大赛等各类国际比赛的评委和“大师 班”艺术指导。 2015 年 2 月 28 日，刘桂莲再次跟世界著名的温哥华交响乐团(VSO)合作， 在世界文化遗产、不朽的殿堂级的温哥华奧芬大剧院(Orpheum Theatre)携手 奏响中国音乐家协会主席赵季平作曲的《第二琵琶协奏曲》，获得巨大成功。 刘桂莲传略被辑入由北京大学编辑出版的《中国当代文艺名人辞典》、由 香港中国国际交流中心编辑出版的《世界名人录》和由英国剑桥国际名人传记中 心(IBC)编辑出版的《二十世纪杰出人物》等数部辞典。
Born in Shanghai, graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing) which has been regarded as the best music school in China, Ms. Guilian Liu was the youngest professor of music all over the country. She has won first prizes in competitions held throughout China. Ms. Liu has performed around the world in countries and districts that include U.S.A., Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Holland, Poland, Finland, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. In “From MAO To MOZART”, an Academy Award winner for Documentary Feature (1980), Guilian Liu played the Pipa for Isaac Stern and won much recognition from the Master. Ms. Liu has also been highly commended by a number of local and international maestros, like Prof. Zuqiang Wu, Dehai Liu, Shicheng Lin, and Seiji Ozawa, as well as Herbert von Karajan. Her biography is listed in “Who’s Who of the World’’, “Chinese Famous Contemporary Writers and Artists” and “Chinese Famous Musicians”. Ms. Guilian Liu used to be the Principal of the plucked instruments section of the Chinese Orchestra of the Central Conservatory of Music, Director of the Shanghai Pipa Society, and a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and Chinese National Orchestral Society. As a Canadian citizen, Guilian Liu is now the art director of the “Pearl Music Studio”. Her students have won prizes in different competitions in the Greater Vancouver, and even the Overall Champion of the Chinese Music Group in Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festival which is a famous event among Canadian mainstream society. In 2009, Guilian Liu was invited to be the judge of the Taipei Pipa Competition. In 2011, Guilian was asked to be the judge of the Hong Kong Schools’ Music Festival. Ms. Liu was the judge of the Liaoyuan International Pipa Competition in 2012 and 2015, and acted to be the judge of the China National Pipa Competition in 2014. She also performed in the above-mentioned events which won the hearts of the audience with her unique style and perfected performance technique. On Feb. 28, 2015, in cooperation again with the world famous Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Guilian Liu played the “Pipa Concerto No. 2” composed by Jiping Zhao who was acting as the chairman of the Chinese Musicians’ Association, in the prestigious Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver. Her performance was a huge success. Currently Ms. Guilian Liu performs around the world with the Canadian ensemble, Red Chamber.