For Wu Fei, playing by heart doesn’t mean playing from memory. It means improvisation.

The guzheng virtuoso and composer’s piece Hello Gold Mountain is a requiem for the lost community of Jewish residents of the Shanghai Ghetto during World War II. In this interview Fei talks about how her life’s path led her to write this piece of music, as well as how her willingness to embrace new experiences has made her a well rounded composer.

One of the improvisations you hear in the episode’s soundtrack was performed in concert at the Blair School of Music in 2018.

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