Min Xiao-Fen has become known for crossing musical boundaries.       more  >>

Joseph Horowitz - The New York Times
 

Ms. Min would have stopped the show even without the intermission that followed, with her wildly virtuosic  'Ambush on 10 Sides'.

James R. Oesterich - The New York Times

 

Philip Glass' score... using such traditional Asian instruments as the pipa - a four stringed lute fluidly played by the astonishing virtuosa Min Xiao-Fen.

John Von Rhein - Chicago Tribune
 

Chen Yi's Duo Ye is a virtuoso showpiece for the twangy, lute-like pipa, brilliantly played by Min Xiao-Fen.

Scott Cantrell - The Dallas Morning News

 

Her improve work with Derek Bailey and John Zorn has taken her ancient Chinese string instrument into the future.

Jim Macnie - The Village Voice

 

The best moments came when guitars were back in their cases and their predecessors took the stage- Min Xiao-Fen offered songs she wrote as well as a piece by Tan Dun on the Pipa, a four-sting instrument from China that dates back some 1,800 years.

Jim Fusilli - Wall Street Journal

 

An  Improbably effective trio of strings started it off:  the Senegalese kora player Abdou M'Boup, the Chinese pipa player Min Xiao-Fen, and the American jazz violinist Regina Carter all blended, with the kora determining rhythm and scale, the pipa layering scratchy excitable figurations and the violin adding flowing Coplandesque lines.

Ben Ratliff - The New York Times

 

Sitting perfectly still, Min held the upright lute in her lap and, using graceful hand gestures, transported listeners with an array of single tones, delicate warps in pitch and thick chord clusters.

David Stabler - The Oregonian

 

The pipa player extraordinaire, brandished her virtuosic skills coaxing cascades of pearly notes from the pear like Chinese lute in a medley of traditional tunes.

Ted Shen - Chicago Tribune 1999 Season Highlights

 

The pipa was played with ferocious aplomb by the remarkable Min Xiao-Fen.

"Joshua Kosman - San Francisco Chronicle

 

Min is a mesmerizing performer on the plucked Chinese instrument, the pipa.

Mark Swed - Los Angeles Times

 

The Chen Yi piece was a demonstration of the incredible array of exotic sounds the virtuosic Min Xiao-Fen was able to produce on the pipa.

John von Rhein - Chicago Tribune

 

She is without question a great virtuoso on the pipa. Her technique is flawless and her intonation is perfect.

Beate Gordon - The Asia Society

 

...one of the world's greatest pipa players.

William Glackin - Sacramento Bee
 

...in Min Xiao-Fen's ferocious, poised reading, the piece's magnificent flurry of strummed chords, rapid repeated notes and spidery melodies proved even more impressive.

Joshua Kosman - San Francisco Chronicle

 

Min Xiao-Fen is an enchanting exponent of the pipa.

Allan Ulrich - San Francisco Examiner

 

In Min's hands, the pipa is something else entirely: an instrument capable of producing virtuoso figurations, subtle sonorities and vivid sound effects. Her performance was hypnotically intense and showed Min's artistry in a range of expressions and dramatic characterizations.

Clarke Bustard - Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

Min Xiao-Fen showed off the powers of the ancient Chinese lute in consummate exhibition of demanding technique and musicianship. Dazzling cascades of notes and percussive reps, sustained crescendos and decrescendos were all a part of the mix as were wide ranges of mood.

Marilyn Hudson - 20th Century Music

 

The pipa is said to be the most virtuosic of all Chinese instruments, and Min Xiao-Fen certainly showed off its capabilities.

Chris Salocks - Oakland Tribune

 

It was truly inspiring concert, one of those rare shows you'll remember for along time.

Cliff Furnald - CMJ

 

Toward the end of - Marco Polo, there is a wonderful onstage pipa solo, all fierce and acidic strings, played by Min Xiao-Fen.

Heidi Waleson - The Wall Street Journal


 

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