古筝演奏家曹桂芬，一九三八年六月出生于河南的音乐世家，二零一九年五月二十八日病逝于郑州。曹氏为河南邓县人，系河南著名筝筝家曹东扶之女。自幼随父习筝，深得曹派古筝艺术之精髓，并跟随父亲学了许多河南大调曲子、曲牌，弹唱俱佳。十六岁时，加入河南开封曲剧团任演奏员，后调开封市京剧团、市文工团，一九七八年，调河南省曲剧团。二十五岁时参加「全国首届独唱独奏会」，以三首河南筝曲《陈杏元落院》、《上楼》、《河南曲牌联奏》见称当时，具有很高的演奏水平和艺术魅力。
CAO Gui-fen
CAO Gui-fen was born on June 1938 in Henan province and passed away of illness on May 28, 2019 in Zhengzhou Henan province. Her ancestral home was in Dengzhou, Henan province. She was the daughter of the renowned zheng artist CAO Dong-fu of the Henan school. She learned the zheng, Henan Da Diao and Qupai from her father. When she was sixteen, she joined the Qu Theater of Kaifeng as a member of its orchestra and later transferred to the Beijing Opera Theater of Kaifeng. In 1978, she was transferred to the Qu Theater of Henan Province. When she was twenty five, she was selected to participate in the 1st Session of the National Recital and Solo Concert. Her performance was high level and well received.