Rock star, jazz pianist, cellist perform in new musical work

Rock singer-songwriter Cui Jian, jazz pianist Luo Ning and cellist Li-Wei Qin have performed together in a new musical work, titled Eternal Breath, which was released on April 16.

The 12-minute work features the three musicians' improvisational performances from different locations. The music video was directed by Yang Zhuoyuan, which combines abstract visuals referring to the universe, the birth of human beings and technology.

According to Luo, he initiated the project, which was inspired by the situation for people after the coronavirus pandemic hit. During his days staying at home in Beijing, Luo practiced hours, which led to the first notes of the musical work.

"Musicians around the world have been expressing their feelings about the crisis and I am glad that the two other musicians joined me," says Luo in Beijing on April 14.

Cui, a pioneering Chinese rock star, attributes the musical work to Luo, who, as Cui says, "inspired me to listen to lots of jazz music and I felt surprised about my performance in the musical work".

A former trumpet player, Cui is known for his rock songs, especially Nothing To My Name, which opened a chapter in China's rock music story at a time when few Chinese knew what rock 'n' roll was.

In the musical work Eternal Breath, Cui improvised and played trumpet.

Li-Wei Qin, who tours worldwide, is a renowned classical musician. As he says, it's an interesting and challenging project for a classical musician to improvise. He is also intrigued by Luo's ideas about dedicating the musical work to people who share similar emotions during the pandemic.