Celebrated Chinese composer visits music centre

Back in 2006 I bought a remarkable book written by Chinese composer and flautist, cookery writer and expert on traditional Chinese food Guo Yue.

The book Music, Food and Love recreates Yue's journey from his birth into a musical family by way of the madness of the Cultural Revolution in which he lost his mother until his arrival in England in 1982 to study flute at the Guildhall School of Music.

His memories of ancient Beijing, the wonder and hardship of life under Mao set against descriptions of food give a fascinating insight into life in a rapidly changing world.

His album of the same title is a masterpiece filled with evocative musical imagery.

Long before he became well known as a cookery writer he had established a reputation as a virtuoso player of the traditional Chinese bamboo flute and had worked on award winning film soundtracks including The Killing Fields and with some of the great names in world music such as Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota, The Chieftains and Clannad.

He was one of the first to make Chinese music more accessible to western audiences who were captivated by the magical sound of the traditional Chinese flute.

Yue is bringing his story Music, Food and Love to the Wiltshire Music Centre tomorrow where he will be playing 15 different flutes and will be joined by Ben Murray on piano, accordion and percussion.

The performance will include striking visual images of the Beijing of his childhood as his story unfolds.

Rosie Upton