Interweaving Sound and Poetic Imagination:
Reimagining Wang Jianzhong’s Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms
This performance-presentation explores the intersection of musical heritage and contemporary artistic imagination through Wang Jianzhong’s piano transcription Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms (梅花三弄). Rooted in the aesthetics of the guqin (古琴), the work embodies a refined sound world characterised by expressive subtlety, resonance, and poetic introspection.
The presentation examines how guqin-inspired concepts—including subtle articulation, flexible rhythm, and timbral nuance—can be translated into modern pianistic language. Through this process, traditional instrumental idioms are not merely reproduced but reimagined, demonstrating how the aesthetic heritage of the guqin can inspire contemporary pianistic expression.
Poetry forms a central dimension of the exploration. Classical Chinese verse associated with the plum blossom, a symbol of resilience and purity, will be integrated into the presentation through spoken or projected text. An original poem written in response to the music further extends this dialogue between inherited and contemporary expression, positioning poetic creation as an interpretive and performative act.
Through performance and discussion, the presentation demonstrates how transcription, traditional instrumental aesthetics, and poetic imagination converge across time, suggesting that engagement with cultural heritage can inspire, rather than constrain, new artistic possibilities.
Dr Koo Siaw Sing
Dr Koo Siaw Sing is an accomplished pianist and educator at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, where he teaches Keyboard Studies and the popular Social History of the Piano. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) from the University of Oregon and previously served as Assistant Professor of Piano at Augustana College, Illinois.
YST Conservatory of Music