Artists

Chen, Louis

image of Chen, Louis A melting pot of music and science

Louis Chen is of Malaysian origins but was born in Chao-Chou in Guangdong province. Both in his early youth and in his capacity as a musicologist and professional musician, he had devoted his attention to the zheng. In the course of extended travels, which took him to Europe and South east Asia, he became the first musician to introduce the music of his instrument to western audiences. Since 1957 the composer and musicologist Egon Wellesz has been encouraging Chen to preserve and pass on his knowledge of the history of Chinese music in book form. At the invitation of Shigeo Kishibe and the Society for Research on Asian Music, Louis Chen visited Tokyo in 1969; in 1971 he was appointed director of the Asian Arts Association. He has made a name for himself, above all, as the first musician to adapt for, and play on the zheng pieces originally composed for the qin.