Shandong school guzheng solo 山东筝派 by Zhao Dengshan 赵登山: "Tie Ma Yin"《铁马吟》

A performance of "Tie Ma Yin"《铁马吟》(Iron Horse Chant), a 1985 composition for solo guzheng (古筝, Chinese bridge zither) by Zhao Dengshan (赵登山, 1933-2021), which is inspired by the sounds of Buddhist chanting and "iron horses" (Chinese: tie ma, 铁马), small bells that are traditionally hung from the exterior corners of Chinese Buddhist temples, which function as wind chimes. Although composed relatively recently, it is considered a representative piece from the Shandong school of guzheng playing (Chinese: Shandong zheng pai, 山东筝派). A program note about this piece from the website of pipa/guzheng player Liu Fang reads as follows: [This piece was] composed by Zhao Dengshan in a classical guqin style. The imitation guqin style depicts a Chinese temple in the mountain, with the night being clear and brightly moonlit, and the light breeze moving the hanging tiema (wind chimes) under the eaves. The performer is Mr. Zhao Dengshan (赵登山, 1933-2021), a native of Yuncheng County (郓城县), northern Heze (菏泽市), southwestern Shandong province, eastern China who was a prominent exponent of the Shandong school of guzheng playing (Chinese: Shandong zheng pai, 山东筝派) who held the status of National-Level Representative Transmitter of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Item of Guzheng Arts (Shandong Guzheng Music) (国家级非物质文化遗产项目古筝艺术（山东古筝乐）代表性传承人). It appears that the guzheng Zhao uses in this performance has 26 (rather than the more usual 21) strings, extending its range by an additional octave. Probably filmed in China in January 1999, and subsequently released on a DVD or VCD. Zhao Dengshan was a second cousin of the master guzheng performer, composer, and teacher Zhao Yuzhai (赵玉斋, 1923-1998 or 1999), also of the Shandong school of guzheng playing, and apprenticed with Zhao Yuzhai (who was also from Yuncheng County) beginning in 1950. 【古筝】赵登山 演奏合集 山东派传人 《铁马吟》 More information: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%B5%B... https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%93%8... https://www.philmultic.com/liufang/MP... https://www.guzheng.cn/qupu/591.html https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%93%8... https://www.philmultic.com/liufang/MP... https://www.sin80.com/artist/zhao-den...