The pipa is a four-stringed instrument looking somewhat like a lute, or an oud, and though you’ve likely never heard of the pipa, the stunning musician Wu Man plays the hell out of it. As a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Wu Man brings the traditional Chinese pipa to worldwide audiences with elegance and skill—she was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” at the 2013 Musical America awards. In an American premiere, the Santa Rosa Symphony performs Zhao Jiping’s “Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra” alongside Mozart’s Symphony No. 15 and Beethoven’s Pastorale symphony on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Green Music Center. 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. 8pm. $20—$80. 707.546.8742.
