Eurasian Project

is the promising title which the Chinese erhu virtuoso Xiao Mei Dong and the classical guitar soloist Harald Kühn have found for their musical collaboration in the borderland between Chinese and occidental culture.

The encounter of two instruments, both deeply rooted in their specific cultures, produces an extraordinary and charming melange of sound and music, opening new and unexpected perspectives in the reciprocal cultural awareness.

According to the motto Masters of one World both artists, in their inspiring musical dialogue, refer to old Chinese masters and traditional European composers of guitar music as well as to works of young contemporary musicians and their own musical arrangements

Deng Xiao Mei, Erhu

"My aim is to link Chinese music to Western music which includes modern pop music as well as the classical music of the Western world." Deng Xiao Mei, born in Beijing, started to play the classic Chinese two string-violin called erhu when she was only six. In China, her home country, she became an expert master of the difficult to play erhu, the traditional instrument of classical Chinese music. After completing her studies at the Beijing Conservatory, she joined the Orchestra of the Beijing Opera. For several years, she was a regular member of the orchestra and toured China (starting in the early age of 14). In 1990, Deng Xiao Mei immigrated to Germany and settled in Mannheim.

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Erhu is a two string-violin made of African ebony which has a resonance box covered by snake skin at one side. The bow´s coating is located between both strings which means that it cannot be separated from the violin without releasing one of the strings.
The long tradition of the erhu goes back to the era of the Ming Dynasty (1386 - 1644). The interval between both strings is a fifth, the range of sound is three octaves.