The Composer Yang Jing 楊靜 is also a world-renowned Pipa virtuoso.
Ms. Yang maintains an extensive performance schedule throughout Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East, bringing a mixture of musical styles and cultures to the stage. Combining her love for the millennia-old tradition of Chinese music with an innovative spirit of exploration, Yang Jing builds on a vast amalgam of musical history from both Asian and Western traditions to create a musical experience that transcends boundaries.
She is equally comfortable whether performing solo concerts, chamber music or concertos, and frequently appears in jazz and improvisatory settings as well. From the Golden Hall in Vienna to the Barbican Centre in London, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Tokyo's New National Theatre, from the community Hall in Shropshire UK that bears her name to the Lucerne Culture and Congress Hall in Switzerland, from Jerusalem Concert Hall in Israel to the Beijing Concert Hall in China: audiences have experienced her distinct mix of virtuosity and lyricism, tradition and innovation.
Ms. Yang also worked as a guest tutor for master classes and semester courses at many universities in the United States, Asia and Europe during 1996 to 2010.
Her musical training started at the age of 6, playing pipa, sometimes also called the Chinese lute. Since 1976 at age of 12 she started her journey by went through different schools and performing ensembles: the Henan opera music school-, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music-, the China National Traditional Orchestra-, Asia Ensemble- (Tokyo), Composition master courses by Minoru Miki-, Master in Composition and Theory at the Berne University of the Arts-, Swiss Jazz Quintet-,
4 tett Differnt Song-, as well as workded with many Duos and Trios groups with outstanding musicians.
As a composer, Yang Jing writes music for western orchestras and ensembles (including Big Band and Jazz ensembles) as well as for traditional Chinese and Asia instrumental ensembles. Outstanding are her compositions for mixed western and Asian instrumental ensembles, but also music for choir, theatre, documentary films, multi-media and sound installations. Her works have been premiered in different countries:
1995 CD «Send my Passions in Red Beans» documents her work for Chinese traditional plucking instruments Trio «The King of Xichung Dynasty» in Beijing
1996 The Beijing concert hall premiered a concert with her works for pipa and ensemble. Her works for Chinese traditional instrumental quartet, for Asia traditional instrumental Ensembles with TV live recordings and CDs.
2000 – 2004 she did Annually Concert tours with her work Premiere in Japan, as well as with a festival titled after her work « Along the Old Silk Road»
2000 She started improvisation music and toured in Asia and Europe with Pierre Favre «Moments»; with Max Roach and Arnie Lawrence in Jerusalem Jazz Music Festival «Music for Peace».
2004 «Pipa and Pipes» music for pipa and organ premiered in Hofkirche St. Leodegar in Luzern Switzerland with Wolfgang Sieber
2005 – 2010 her works for mixed Ensembles: «Pfingstrose», «A summer night Silk Dance in Changan», «River, our mother», «When do we see the bright Moon again?» were comissioned and premiered by Hokuto International Music Festival in Tokyo Japan.
2006 «Yang Jing music for Pipa» premiered in Moods Zürich
«Little Beijing Tune» music for mix Ensemble premiered in Luzern
2007 «A journey to the West» work for guitar trio and pipa, commissioned and premiered by the Concert Guitar Trio for the concert tour in Switzerland.
2008 «Hidden Face of the Moon» Music for male choir, premiered by the Tokyo Male Choir in Tokyo Oji Hall.
«Fly – Fly - Fly» work for pipa premiered with Rock-Band in Olympic Museum Theater Lausanne with Christy Doran’s New Bag.
«Music for Trio Ensemble» composed and played with «Yang Jing Trio»
2009 «Unter einem hellen Sternenhimmel» music for mixed ensemble in Japan and Switzerland Premiere tour.
«Dragon and Tiger Dance II» music for mixed ensemble Premiere tour.
«Die Wundersame Welt des Luo Ping» music for film, Museum Rietberg Zürich, New York.
2010 «One Tone - Two Lands» music for Chinese traditional instruments in Tokyo, Japan and in Munich, Germany.
2010 «Farewell to an old friend», «Qingxu Street No. 48», «Water Lily» «Step into the Future» music for Jazz quartet toured in China and Switzerland with 4tet - Different Song (Bänz Oester: bass; Yang Jing: pipa & guqin; Michel Wintsch: piano; Norbert Pfammatter: percussion).
2012 «Lute in Garden», «Shadow of Roses», «Birnenblüten», «Salü Abend» works for pipa and guitar, premiered with Christy Doran in Luzern, Switzerland.
2013 Yang Jing works for Music Theater «Drach und Ameis» premiered in KKL Aarau, Switzerland with Erica Hänssler.
Concert «Picks and Sticks» music for marimaba and pipa, commissioned by Asiamusic, premiered in Museum Rietberg Zurich with Brian Zator
Concert «Musik und Gedicht» Yang Jing works for plucking instruments and theatre play premiered with Erica Hänssler.
Concert «Metall Holz Wasser Feuer Erde» premiered with Gerry Hemingway in KKL Aarau, Switzerland.
Concert «Laute im Garten» music for pipa and guitar premiered with Christy Dorian in KKL Aarau, Switzerland.
Concert «Zwischen - Ländli» music for pipa, guzheng, violin, percussion and voice premiered with Christine Lauterburg in KKL Aarau, Switzerland.
Concert «Entlang der Seidenstrasse» pipa solo concert with new music and lecture in Switzerland
«Watermarks» Music for Documenta Film
2014 The Boswiler Summer Festival in Switzerland commissioned and premiered her works: «A Traveller’s Chant - at Mount Lu» Music for choir and pipa premiered with the Calmus Ensemble (Germany);
Quintet «The Big Dipper / Der Grosse Wagen» – in five movements, premiered by Irina Ungureanu: soprano; Maruta Staravoitava: flute; Florian Arnicans: cello; Yang Jing: pipa; Angela Köck: marimba and percussion; Conductor: Peter Siegwart.
«String Trio: Zero - One - Two – Three» premiered by Ronny Spiegel: violin; Janka Szomor-Mekis: viola, Florian Arnicans: cello.
Pipa Concerto «Feuer und Erde» commissioned and premiered by the Zurich Lake Orchestra in Castle Rapperswil, Switzerland.
«Yellow in Green», «Roach-Rutsch-Glueck», «Far East in the mirror», «A Letter to Mingus», «MaMa» and «Good-bye», works for Jazz Ensemble with 11 players have premiered with the New Oriental Jazz Ensemble in KKL Aarau, Switzerland.
2015 Concert for sextet and the seventh «Erzählungen vom Fluss» Musik für Flöte, Klarinette, Klavier, Schlagzeug, Violine und Violoncello and the invisible 'seventh: a sound installation. The First Movement «Nach dem Anfang» premiered by Daniela Müller (Vl), Christophe Mathias (Vc), Bettina Berger (Fl), Anna d’Errico (Piano), Andrea Nagy (Cl), Ruud Roelofsen (Perc). /
Second Movement «Koexistenz» premiered by Vertigo Ensemble with conductor Patrick Jüdt
2016 «Tales of The Pipa» her compositions for acoustic pipa live concert with multimedia commissioned and played in Liechtenstein. The same year this project has a premier tour in China.
2017 Commissioned and premiered by the Zürich Music Festival «Tage für Musik der Welt», concert «Identity» with her works for pipa and string quartet, premiered with the Young String Quartet
Concert «Riding the River home» pipa and piano concert, premiered with Hans Feigenwinter
Concert «Pipa meets Cembalo» music for pipa and cembalo, premiered with Christina Kunz
Works for European Chinese Ensemble Concert «Unter einem hellen Sternenhimmel» has toured in Fribourg, Basel, Bern, Zürich and Aarburg.
2018 At the Zürich Music Festival «Tage für Musik zwischen den Welten»: Concert «With Love From Europe And Asia» works for pipa and strings premiered with the Belenus Quartet;
Concert «Im Blütengarten – sozusagen grundlos vergnügt» music for trio premiered with Viviane Hasler (Gesang), Jan-Filip Tupa (Cello)
Concert «Ballade für Dich und mich» music for Jazz Trio concert, premiered with Daniel Schnyder (Saxofon), Rätus Flisch (Bass)
Concert «Jade Flute in Spring Night» music for flute, pipa and voice, premiered with Günter Wehinger (Flöte), Peter Doppelfeld (Rezitate)
2019 «A Shanxiner im Muotathal» concert at WEF Davos premiered with Lucerne Festival Strings. Her works for mix ensembles toured in Hawaii, Hong Kong and Macau with Hong Kong Radio Soloists Ensemble, Hawaii Soloists Ensemble and in Macau on works for pipa and organ have premiered with Ernesto Maurice Corpus.
2020 Concert «Invisible Flower» music on pipa and guitar, premiered with Philipp Schaufelberger in Zurich.
Premier Concert «Du und ich» with music for pipa and piano, played with Christoph Baumann
Concert «Mystery of Love» she premiered her new works for solo pipa as well as compositions from Thüring Bräm, Minoru Miki, Donald Reid Womack, Qu Xiaosong and Jeff Myers.