Zhao Songting

Also known as Called the Flute King of Jiangnan

Zhao Songting was born in Dongyang, Zhejiang, in 1924. He began the flute at nine and at fifteen studied with the Kunqu musician Ye Xiaogou, steeping himself in Wu opera and Kunqu music. Joining a performing troupe in 1949, he later learned the northern style from Liu Guanle and fused the two traditions into the Zhejiang school of dizi playing. In 1956 he joined the Zhejiang Folk Song and Dance Troupe and played his Morning at the first National Music Week. His works include Morning, San Wu Qi and Scenes of the Wu River; he also built the paired flute and studied the acoustics of the bamboo flute. In later years he taught at the Shanghai Conservatory and elsewhere, training players such as Zhan Yongming and Dai Ya. He died of illness in Hangzhou in March 2001.