One of three guests for 2013-06-22 concert…
Pingxin started to play the dulcimer at the age of 6. In September 1974, he emerged victorious from fierce competition to enter the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music, and became the only dulcimer student taken in that academic year nationwide. Upon graduation from Central Conservatory of Music in 1979, he continued with his first degree program in dulcimer performance. He graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Music, and the Conservatory kept him as a teacher. In 1985, he was one of the first Master Degree students of the dulcimer in all of China. Upon graduation in 1987, he became a full-time dulcimer teacher at the Conservatory. In 1993, he was promoted to be an Associate Professor – the youngest one with such a title in the entire institution with over 300 faculty/staff members in that year.
He has performed in many parts of China. Upon invitation in 1980, as a member of an elite group of musicians, he performed in the International Youth Arts Festival in Hong Kong. The following year (1981), he was one of 3 musicians to be invited to West Germany for a concert tour. These were the relatively early and rare experiences of China’s renewed cultural contact with the outside world after the Cultural Revolution (1966- 76). His solo as well as ensemble performances were well received by the media of Hong Kong and West Germany.
In 1988, Gyorgy Ranky, considered the most accomplished Hungarian composer after Kodaly, on his visit to Beijing, was so deeply moved by Pingxin Xu’s performance that he arranged a Hungarian dance piece for Pingxin Xu with the words: “Dedicated to Pingxin, with admiration and friendship”.
In 1993, he moved to England and almost immediately became a popular musician there with invitations coming in great number from major concert halls which included the renowned South Bank Centre, Barbican Centre, Queen’s Theatre (London), Royal Exchange Theatre (Manchester), and Repertory Theatre (Birmingham). In January 1995, he gave a solo recital at the prestigious Percell Room in London to a full house of enthusiastic audience that gave him long standing ovations. He performed for some of the highest ranked music festivals in Britain, including King’s Lynn, Brighton, Three Choirs, Shepperton, Henley, Edinburgh, and the Llangollen International Music Estedfod in Wales. He was one of the only 3 featured solo acts invited—one of the other two performers was the legendary Luciano Pavarotti.
In 1993, he represented China to perform at the World Dulcimer Congress held in Hungary, and in 1995, he was the only Chinese Dulcimer player invited to perform for the International Dulcimer Festival in Munich, Germany, again at the International Dulcimer Festival in Switzerland, and in Czech Republic subsequently.
Since the mid 1990s, he has been an international performer, introducing his Chinese dulcimer to hundreds of thousands of amazed audiences from all over the world.
中國第一屆揚琴碩士（1985），曾為整個中國最年輕之揚琴副教授 （1993）
6歲起開始學習揚琴，1974年經過競爭激烈的入學考試，考入中國最高音樂學府中央音樂學院附中，1979年升入中央音樂學院民樂系本科（1981年轉入新恢復的中國音樂學院）。1983畢業獲得學士學位。 隨即留校實驗樂團。 1985年考取成為中國第一屆揚琴碩士研究生。1987年獲得碩士學位，留校任揚琴教師，1993年被破格提升為副教授，為當年全院300多教師中最年輕之副教授， 也是當年全國最年輕之揚琴副教授。
7歲開始登台演奏。在中國許多地方表演之外，1980年隨 “中國青年演奏家小組”赴香港參加“世界青少年藝術節”表演，獨奏及合奏伴奏表演均獲得香港輿論界高度評價。1981年僅由三人組成的“中國音樂家小組”赴德意志聯邦共和國巡回表演。 這些活動均為中國“文化大革命”後，比較早期及少見的對外表演活動。
1988年，被認為是繼“科達伊“（Kodaly) 之後匈牙利最有成就的作曲家喬治─蘭奇(Gyorgy Ranky) 到北京訪問。聽過徐平心表演的“揚琴小協奏曲”之後異常感動，隨後為徐平心改變了一首匈牙利民歌並題詞：“獻給平心－帶著仰慕與友誼”。
學術方面，徐平心是中國第一個對世界揚琴進行橫向比較研究的人。 所著論文《中外揚琴的發展與比較》（1987），首先提出“世界揚琴三大體系”的理論， 該理論現已在音樂專業領域被廣泛采納。
在作為中國音樂學院專業揚琴老師的十年中 （1983-93），徐平心在揚琴教學方面也取得了令人矚目的成就，有學生獲得全國揚琴大賽的頭獎， 有的學生現在已經成為講師副教授。
1993年，徐平心代表中國參加了在捷克舉行的“世界揚琴大會”95年在德國慕尼黑舉行的“揚琴藝術節”，1996年在瑞士日內瓦舉行的揚琴藝術節。 1997年，徐平心被在捷克舉行的“世界揚琴藝術節”特請為首席演奏家，他的表演獲得了與會者的熱烈評價。
在1993－99年 旅居英國期間，徐平心很快成為當地最受歡迎的與最繁忙的中國音樂家。應邀到英國60多個城鎮以及歐2大陸表演，幾乎演遍了英國主要音樂廳，其中包括：著名的倫敦皇家演藝中心（Royal Festival Hall），Barbican Centre, 女皇劇院，伯明翰的 Repertory Theatre，曼策斯特的Royal Exchange Theatre, Sallis Benney Theatre (Brighton), Royal Theatre (Portsmouth), Turner Sim Concert Hall (Southampton), Blackfriars Arts Centre (Boston), Dartington Arts Centre, Tyne Theatre and Opera House (Newcastle) 等等….。他還應邀為英國一些最著名的藝術節表演，其中包括：愛丁堡藝術節，布萊頓音樂節， Three Choirs 藝術節，澤西世界音樂節，Crawley 國際藝術節，Oundle國際藝術節，Truro國際藝術節，Kings Lynn 藝術節，Guernsey 藝術節，Chiddingly藝術節, Henley 藝術節。等等等等，尤其是最著名“Llangollen 國際音樂節”（1995，該屆藝術節只邀請三位音樂家，除徐平心外，另兩位音樂家為國際著名男高音怕瓦羅（ Luciano Pavarotti），與一位單簧管名家）。
他的觀眾包括 三位英國首相： 愛德加-希思，約翰-梅杰，托尼-布萊爾，以及英國皇室成員。
自九十年代中以來，徐平心成為了真正的“國際音樂家”，每年巡回表演，徐平心獨奏音樂會的現場觀眾目前已達到數十萬之眾。 在中國揚琴400年的歷史上，尚未有人如此廣泛地將揚琴推向國際舞台。
世界許多國家的電台，電視台多次播出徐平心的揚琴音樂會。 他的獨奏專輯由ARC 國際音樂公司 出版，面向全球發行。各國媒體對徐平心的揚琴表演有大量的報道與贊揚。
