Master Musicians forge deep connections on inaugural China tour

Geneva, Switzerland, 4 December 2024 - This autumn, the Aga Khan Master Musicians (AKMM) – the resident performing ensemble of the Aga Khan Music Programme (AKMP) – completed a successful, four-stop tour of China, delivering concerts, workshops and discussions to large and enthusiastic audiences.

Traditional Chinese music represented one of the performances’ central pillars, and the tour formed part of wider 75th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The events also celebrated AKMM’s acclaimed debut album, Nowruz, featuring new music inspired by traditions from China, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, connecting China with those other regions of the world through their shared traditions and heritage.

AKMM consists of Wu Man (pipa), Basel Rajoub (saxophone, duclar, doholla), Feras Charestan (qanun), Sirojiddin Juraev (dutar, tanbur), Jasser Haj Youssef (violin and viola d’amore) and Abbos Kosimov (frame drums and Central Asian percussion).

Joined for two concerts by well-known singer-songwriter Sanubar Tursun, whose music reflects her Uyghur cultural heritage, AKMM gave performances in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Urumqi.

The inclusion of Uyghur music highlighted the diversity of cultural traditions within China while underscoring China’s historical connections with Central Asia. These connections provided the theme of a 2012 CD album co-produced by the Aga Khan Music Programme and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, titled Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route. The album’s 14 tracks include Hui, Kazakh, Tajik and Uyghur music.

Furthermore, the AKMM tour celebrated broader cultural connections between China, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

“Many of the Master Musicians come from countries that are neighbours or near-neighbours to China,” explained Wu Man, “Although to many Chinese listeners – certainly those in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen – those countries are still very far away geographically. Because of that, many listeners have never seen instruments like the dutar or doira before.”

Hangzhou-born pipa virtuoso Wu Man has championed a broad awareness of China’s cultural diversity throughout her career, and had eagerly agreed to participate in the Borderlands recording project. Fairouz Nishanova, Director of AKMP, emphasised the role that the project played in setting the stage for the just-completed concert tour.

“Borderlands, recorded and produced during 2010-2012, is an extraordinary collection of music pieces in which pipa master Wu Man and her Uyghur, Kazakh, Tajik and Hui collaborators explore connections between the musical worlds of China and Central Asia. Described as a ‘masterful blending of kindred traditions’, it celebrates China’s musical diversity and we were delighted that this musical relationship continued to develop during Wu Man and the full AKMM’s inaugural tour of China.”

“This sense of musical and personal kinship was demonstrated throughout the tour,” Nishanova added. “At the end of one of the concerts, Wu Man received not only a standing ovation, but also the most recognised sign of respect and friendship – being dressed in Uyghur traditional clothing in a public declaration of love and acceptance as a family member.

“Videos of the tour concerts received more than a million views on Chinese social media, and many people said that a connection like that could only happen through music.”

Sanubar Tursun herself commented: “This was a new collaboration for me with this ensemble, and it already felt like a family. After listening to the Aga Khan Master Musicians and performing with them, I feel that I have gained a lot of knowledge.”

Wu Man continued: “We say these musics and instruments come from other cultures. But what does that mean? My own instrument, the pipa, came from Persia and Central Asia through the Silk Road trade routes 2,000 years ago, and developed further in China. We also have Chinese versions of some of the other Central Asian instruments that the ensemble plays.

“To me, it’s about demonstrating that there are many kinds of music in the world, many of them connected. I wanted to remind listeners that music doesn’t exist in just one place. It travels between regions and countries, and from the past into the future.”

While illuminating historical connections between kindred musical traditions, AKMM’s concerts also re-energised those traditions with new works. All the music played was composed by the Aga Khan Master Musicians and developed within the ensemble.

“It’s contemporary music inspired but not limited by tradition,” explained Fairouz Nishanova. “It is about respecting and honouring traditions, not as barriers, but as stepping stones to new creations. Every musician brings something entirely new to any piece they present to the AKMM. In the context of different cultures connecting, it’s crucial to recognise that all these cultures are alive, and still developing.”

The China concerts also served to deepen musical and personal relationships within the AKMM ensemble itself, providing inspirational new experiences to the players, and new forums for their artistry.

Qanun player and composer Feras Charestan commented: “The culture, the lifestyle, the audiences – everything has been totally different from how they are in Europe or other countries. For me, it’s been very rewarding to discover this.”

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Basel Rajoub continued: “The cities are different, and the audiences are completely different – they’ve tended to be far younger than European listeners, for example. It’s been an endless joy for me.”

The concerts were met with enthusiastic audiences throughout the tour. Basel Rajoub noted: “At one event we saw listeners drumming, singing and dancing, which is very rare to encounter in Europe or America. During performances I looked at listeners’ faces and took energy from the audience. It makes you very happy as a musician when you see young children, for example, reacting and dancing to music that’s unfamiliar to them.”

With a deep knowledge of Chinese audiences, Wu Man was able to identify different kinds of listeners among the crowds that gathered to hear the performances.

“There were musicians and even musicologists, who were excited to experience this music played live, rather than simply on recordings, and by musicians of such expertise. There were also other highly educated professionals who were not musicians and came to discover different cultures and different musics.

“But even for a more general audience member, who may have known very little about this kind of music, it was fascinating. I received lots of images and messages myself via Chinese social media. Judging from the people who contacted me, I think the impact of the tour will be very large: when listeners left the concert hall, they would undoubtedly remember the concert.”

The tour’s success was also recognised through a continuing relationship with Chinese venues: AKMM have been invited to return to Hong Kong in 2025, and collaborations beyond that are also under discussion.

Alongside the concerts, the Master Musicians took part in well-attended workshops and discussions throughout the tour, providing context and insights into the music they were playing, and the ways in which it connects traditions. A roundtable discussion brought them together with professors and students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen.

In Beijing and Urumqi, percussionist Abbos Kosimov met with frame-drum students who had previously learnt from his online video tutorials. “They’d never seen me live – this was the first time I’d been there in person, so it was a very exciting experience,” Kosimov remembered. “I taught them, and they had lots of questions that I tried to answer – it was just as interesting for me as it hopefully was for the students.” Similarly, a young Chinese qanun player connected with Feras Charestan in Hong Kong, and sought his guidance on instrumental technique and repertoire.

Also in Hong Kong, a whole-evening event at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center combined discussion and performance. Wu Man and Fairouz Nishanova delivered a keynote presentation on how cross-cultural music-making and diverse traditions foster harmony and exchange in a globalised world. This was followed by a performance/workshop by the Master Musicians, who gave insights into their musical traditions and their respective paths into teaching and performance.

About the Aga Khan Music Programme

Founded in 2000, the Aga Khan Music Programme (AKMP) collaborates with musicians and ensembles across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and West Africa. AKMP celebrates music as an elemental expression of human spirituality, and a crucial means of fostering tolerance, curiosity and pluralism by connecting individuals and communities, and bringing musicians’ work to a global audience. While respecting and supporting communities’ often ancient traditions, AKMP also encourages new projects from contemporary artists immersed in those rich heritages, producing music inspired by but not constrained by tradition.

AKMP carries out its work through a network of music schools and curriculum development centres that currently operate in Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Their aims are to rethink traditional master-apprentice learning models for our contemporary times, and to provide learning and performance opportunities for outstanding young musicians.

Aga Khan Master Musicians with Sanubar Tursun

• Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
  29 September 2024
• Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing
  3 October 2024
• People’s Theatre of Xinjiang, Urumqi
  5 October 2024
• Shaw Auditorium, Hong Kong
  9 October 2024