A most enjoyable concert in Buxton last night of the Silk String Quartet - four very talented young ladies playing Chinese traditional and modern (classical and traditional style) music on pipa (lute), yangqin (hammer dulcimer), guzheng (looks like a Japanese koto), and erhu (a sort of 2 string fiddle, with a non- detachable bow and played upright).

I've heard very little Chinese music, but it was very accessible- even a "squeaky-door" influenced piece was much more attractive than anything I've heard from Western musicians. The bowing of the erhu was almost impossibly smooth, seamless, plaintive and expressive. The balance between instruments was good, despite amplification so minimal that the spiel between tunes was virtually inaudible.

If you get the chance to see them, jump at it.