Erhu - Erhu Music

Erhu Music

A notable composer for the erhu was Liu Tianhua (刘天华/劉天華; Liú Tiānhuá; 1895-1932), a Chinese musician who also studied Western music. He composed 47 exercises and 10 solo pieces (1918-32) which were central to the development of the erhu as a solo instrument. His works for the instrument include Yue Ye (月夜; Yuè yè, Moon Night) and Zhu ying Yao hong (烛影摇红; Zhú yǐng yáo hóng, Shadows of Candles Flickering Red).

Other solo pieces include Er Quan Ying Yue (1950, Moon Reflected on Second Spring) by A Bing, Sai Ma (Horse Race) by Huang Haihuai, Henan Xiaoqu (Henan folk tune) by Liu Mingyuan, and Sanmenxia Changxiangqu (1961, Sanmen Gorge Capriccio) by Liu Wenjin. Most solo works are commonly performed with yangqin accompaniment, although pieces such as the ten solos by Liu Tianhua and Er Quan Ying Yue originally did not have accompaniment.

In addition to the solo repertoire, the erhu is also one of the main instruments in regional music ensembles such as Jiangnan sizhu, Chinese opera ensembles, and the modern large Chinese orchestra.

The erhu is also used in the music of the Cirque du Soleil show O. Even fusion progressive rock groups like The Hsu-nami have incorporated the erhu into their music and it is their lead instrument. It is incorporated in the Taiwanese black metal band ChthoniC and also used in the song "Field Below" by Regina Spektor.

An erhu instrumental album about the Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河图; Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú) was performed by erhu artist Song Fei (宋飞; Song Fei) to express the painting drawn in the Song Dynasty by Zhang Zeduan (张择端; Zhang Zeduan). It was performed with the erhu, jinghu, banhu, gaohu, etc, to show the Livelihood, Trade, Festival of the Song Dynasty; the album contains 18 parts. The album represented the greatest achievement of Chinese classical music and it made the China's modern national landmark music works.

More recently, the erhu has appeared in several soundtracks, featuring prominently in the soundtracks for the TV series Earth: Final Conflict (played by George Gao) and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (played by Jiebing Chen). An erhu solo is also featured in "That New Car Smell" from 2009's Star Trek soundtrack by Michael Giacchino.