A new approach to folk
A German composer has spent over 20 years researching and writing music for traditional Chinese instruments. Chen Nan talks to Robert Zollitsch ahead of a retrospective performance of his works in Beijing.
As the man behind the hit songs performed by his singer wife Gong Linna, including Tan Te, or Perturbed, and Fa Hai - You Don't Understand Love, German composer Robert Zollitsch is widely known in China for his pioneering Chinese folk songs. But the 48-year-old, who has been researching and writing Chinese folk music for over 20 years, says that his chamber music, mixing traditional Chinese folk and orchestral instruments, is a better vehicle for conveying his thoughts and emotions about Chinese folk music.
"Songs can reach millions of people overnight, due to the singer's interpretation and fast spread of the TV and Internet. But chamber music is a complete set of work on its own, which takes time to appreciate," says Zollitsch, who is better known in China as Lao Luo.
