Hear today's full episode by clicking "Listen" above or find "Intermezzo" from your favorite podcast app.
Welcome to Intermezzo from Interlochen Public Radio, where we take a few minutes to bounce some ideas around about classical music.
This week, Christy L'Esperance and her co-host, Bianca, celebrate Chinese New Year by exploring traditional Chinese instruments playing music related to horses — this year's animal in the Chinese zodiac.
Chinese New Year is determined by a lunisolar calendar, falling on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Because it relies on the moon's cycles, the date varies from year to year, but it’s usually between January 21th and February 20th on the Gregorian calendar.
The first traditional Chinese instrument we'll get to know this week is the erhu, which is a type of Chinese violin. The erhu has just 2 strings played with a bow. It's used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras.
Listen to today's episode for some samples of erhu music!
"Gallop of Ten Thousand Horses"
This week's Mystery Melody
It's time to test your ears. Each week we have a mystery melody that we have to figure out together. It relates to our topic. (We'll make the melody less mysterious each day.)
If you know the mystery melody, text your name and the title and we’ll give you a shout out on Friday. The number to text is (833) 490-4718.
