Speaking through the erhu

Young Chang

The Chinese erhu has just two strings. Its neck is thin and long, its

sound-box base is small, the resonator is made of snakeskin and the bow

of horsehair.

The erhu, which first appeared as a musical instrument 1,000 years

ago, looks frail. But the musical relic bears a heavy load when in the

hands of Karen Han.

It is with the erhu that Han speaks about love, peace and beauty

through music. And were it not for the erhu -- a precursor to the violin

-- Han, whose first language is Chinese, would not be the communicator

she is today.

The virtuoso erhu player will perform Oct. 19-21 in a world premiere

program of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Concerto for Erhu and Chamber

Orchestra,” at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The performance is part of the

Eclectic Orange Festival, sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange

County. The concert will also include a West Coast premiere of composer

Tan Dun’s “Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra in Memory of Toru

Takemitsu,” with soloist David Cossin.

On Tuesday, Han will also perform a solo at Borders Books, Music &

Cafe in Costa Mesa to demonstrate the erhu’s sounds and its traditions.

“I feel there’s a lot of things sometimes I cannot use my voice or

speech to talk about,” the Walnut resident said. “But my music will

explain it. My instrument is kind of like my equipment to get in more

contact [with] the world.”

Han moved to the United States from China in 1988. By then, she had

become the youngest musician to earn a master’s degree from the

prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Her child-prodigy

reputation and talents had even touched dignitaries such as Luciano

Pavarotti, Margaret Thatcher and former president Jimmy Carter.

The 30-something musician caught Hollywood’s attention when her

participation in the soundtrack for the “Last Emperor” helped the score

garner an Oscar.

Though the score for “Crouching Tiger” was originally written by Tan

Dun with the erhu in mind, Han is not on the score. The filmmakers

decided to go with Yo-Yo Ma playing a cello instead.

However, her television and film credits do include performances in

the “Little Mermaid,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Hercules” and the documentary

“Pavarotti in China.”

“I feel very pleased to be living in this world, especially after

coming to America [because] there’s lots of love I received from the

audience, from the people, from the composers, from the musicians,” Han

said.

She also enjoys her freedom.

When Han left China, she abandoned a more restricted musical

upbringing where music was supposed to be a certain way. Since the age of

six, when she first learned to play the erhu following in her father’s

footsteps, Han had always adhered to the instruction of a teacher. She

inserted vibratos only when her teacher said she should. She played

everything the “correct” volume.

But moving to America and learning American techniques gave her a

musical freedom. In fact, Han has even combined the erhu with genres

including jazz and new age.

“Now I even play a little bit more longer than the bar the composer

wrote,” Han said. “I just follow my mood and my feeling. Just trying to

show the love I can show.”

And she has a lot of it. Enough to spare.

“Especially in America, people work so hard, they have not enough time

to have the chance to think deeply [about] what they want,” Han said.

“The feeling that what I wanted to tell people is that how much love

there is in this world. There’s much more love than they think.”

Her message seems to be getting out. Rose Cheung, a Chinese-American

board member of Bravi 9, a nonprofit group that promotes cross-cultural

understanding through the arts, bestows Han a comparison to Yo-Yo Ma.

“When he plays cello, you can see his emotion,” said the Irvine

resident, whose group is a sponsor of the “Crouching Tiger” concert.

“Same thing with Karen. You could tell. She’s truly emotionally involved

and the audience can feel that directly.”

For Han, this means her mission is accomplished.

“Music is [an] instrument,” she said. “To feel deeper, to feel more,

to be more sensitive to each other.”

FYI

WHAT: Karen Han will perform

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Borders Books, Music & Cafe; 8 p.m. Oct. 19

and 20 and 3 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre

WHERE: Borders, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. Irvine Barclay Theatre,

4242 Campus Drive, Irvine

COST: Borders -- free; Barclay -- $38 or $33

CALL: (949) 553-2422