The creative background of the piano piece “Joyful Female Soldier” is as follows:
This piece originates from a segment of music in the fourth scene of the national ballet “Red Detachment of Women”, adapted by the renowned composer Du Mingxin. “Red Detachment of Women” was created by Du Mingxin and others in the 1960s and premiered in Beijing in 1964, receiving widespread acclaim.
As one of the main creators of “Red Detachment of Women”, in order to better preserve the music from the ballet, Du Mingxin selected seven pieces of music from the ballet and adapted them into piano solos, with “Joyful Female Soldier” being one of them. This piece depicts a joyful and harmonious scene between the female Red Army soldiers and the old cook, featuring beautiful melodies and diverse, dramatic timbres. It serves as a perfect example of the combination of Chinese and Western music.
Watch Enyu Zhang perform The Happy Woman Soldiers by Mingxin Du for the 2025 International Piano Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.