Dressed in traditional Chinese attire, Liao plays her instrument with an assurance and panache that can only come from years of practice. Each melody is beautifully phrased, and coloured by the characteristic quarter-note bends so typical of the genre, her hands sweeping over the strings creating Eastern sounding glissandi.
We are truly transported to another world as Liao intersperses her set with historical tidbits about her country, the guzheng, and its role in the cultural revolution. She tells how one piece conjures up scenes of fishermen by rivers, and indeed the pretty melodies evoke the idyllic peace of a Chinese ornate garden.
Dance of Yan, an originally orchestral piece, is altered and rearranged by Liao to superb effect. Her laughably understated introduction line ‘I think it’s ok, it’s not that bad’, induces more than a few chuckles from the audience. The most tonal of her pieces (by Western standards), aptly-named Happy Day, is decorated with exuberant percussive strums that increase its vitality and give sparkling energy.
The experience of watching Liao in action is mesmerising, the motion of her hands and the consistent rhythms of the music inducing a trance-like state. Her whole being is engaged in performance, at times her fingers picking across the strings at lightening speed and her face all the while wearing a look of intense concentration.
The end of each piece is signalled with a smile once the last chord has ceased, before the audience breaks into rapturous applause.
