"No contemporary pipa can replicate the sounds produced by these old ones," Wu says.

With 13 tracks, the new album not only has well-known pipa pieces such as White Snow in Sunny Spring and Ambush From Ten Sides but also pieces that have rarely been recorded before, including Slow Shang Tune and Three Leaps Over the Stream.

At the end of the recording, which lasted three days, Wu took off her shoes and played an improvisation, Seeking the Tao of Strings, after which she later named the album.

"She is a great musician and understands her instrument as well as she knows herself," says recording engineer Li Xiaopei, who worked with Wu for the first time on the new album.

Li says that instead of "beautifying" the sound, they tried to ensure the sound of the old pipa remained as natural and authentic as possible.

Wu was first exposed to Western classical music in 1979 when she saw Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing in Beijing. In 1980, she participated in an open master class with violinist Isaac Stern and in 1985, she made her debut in the US before moving there in 1990.

As a principal and founding musician of Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad project, Wu has performed throughout the US, Europe and Asia. She is featured in the 2015 Emmy-Award-winning documentary The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, as well as on the film's 2017 Grammy Award-winning companion recording Sing Me Home, which won Best World Music Album.

"I love working with musicians from around the world. Their instruments, style and way of thinking and performing music all inspire me," Wu says.

In October, the Aga Khan Master Musicians will make their debut tour of China. Wu, who is one of its founding members, will be accompanied by five musicians from Central Asia. Founded in 2013, the troupe draws inspiration from traditional sources but creates an exuberantly contemporary sound through its mosaic of styles and sensibilities.

The tour will include mentoring opportunities for young musicians in the form of workshops, master classes and artist residencies that explore how traditional musical styles and repertoires can be expressed in a contemporary musical language that integrates performance, composition and improvisation.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn