Biography
Coming from an intellectual family, Qigang Chen was born inReception
Chen is one of the most performed living composers around the world, winning him many accolades. In 2001, his orchestral work ''Wu Xing'' was selected from over 1000 entries as one of the five finalists of the Masterprize Award, hosted by the BBC. In 2003, EMI/Virgin Classics released an album devoted to his music, including the highly acclaimed work ''Iris devoilée''. It was later voted by ''Gramophone'' magazine as one of the Top Ten Classical Recordings of the Month. In 2005, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Musique Symphonique by SACEM in recognition of his career achievement. He worked as Music Director of the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Most recently, in 2013, he was decorated withList of works
Chamber
* ''Le Souvenir'' (1985) for flute and harp * ''San Xiao'' (1995) for bamboo flute, san xian, zheng, and pipa * ''Extase II'' (1997) for oboe and instrumental ensemble * ''L'Éloignement'' (2003) for string orchestra * ''Instants d'un opéra de Pékin'' (version from 2004) for piano solo * ''Extase III'' (2010, arrangement of EXTASE) for oboe and traditional Chinese instrumental ensemble * ''Voyage d'un rêve'' (new version from 2017) for flute, harp, percussion, and string trio * ''La clarinette enchantée'' (2017) for flute, oboe, clarinet, basson, and French hornConcerti
* ''Feu d'ombres'' (1990-1991) for soprano saxophone and small wind ensemble * ''Extase'' (1995) for oboe and orchestra * ''Reflet d'un temps disparu'' (1995-1996) for cello and orchestra * ''La Nuit profonde'' (2001) for jinghu/jing erhu and orchestra * ''Un Temps disparu'' (2002) for erhu and orchestra * ''Er Huang'' (2009) for piano and orchestra * ''Extase IV'' (2011, arrangement of Extase) for oboe and Chinese traditional orchestra * ''Reflet d'un temps disparu II'' (2011, arrangement of Reflet d'un temps disparu) for cello and traditional Chinese orchestra * ''Un Temps disparu II'' (2012) for viola and orchestra * ''Joie eternelle'' (2013) for trumpet in C and orchestra * ''La Joie de la souffrance'' (2017) for violin and orchestraVocal music
* ''Poème lyrique II'' (1990) for baritone and instrumental ensemble * ''Invisible Voices'' (2005) for 6 mixed voices and large orchestra * ''Jiang Tcheng Tse'' (2017) for solo voice, chorus, and orchestraOrchestra
* ''Wu Xing'' (The Five Elements) (1998-1999) for symphony orchestra * ''Iris dévoilée'' (Iris Unveiled, 2001) for large orchestra, three female voices, pipa, erhu and banhu, and zheng * ''Enchantements oubliés'' (2004) for large string orchestra, harp, piano, celesta, and percussion * ''Ouverture symphonique: "Instants d'un opéra de Pékin"'' (2014) for symphony orchestra * ''Luan Tan'' (2010–2015) for orchestra * ''Itinéraire d'une illusion'' (2017) for symphony orchestraElectro-acoustic
* ''Rêve d'un solitaire'' (1992–1993) for instrumental ensemble or orchestra and electronicsMusic for ballet
* ''Raise the Red Lantern (Épouses et concubines)'' (2000)Songs
* ''You and Me'' (2008); theme song of 29th Olympic games in Beijing 2008 * Theme song of film ''Under the Hawthorn Tree'' (2010) for male voice * ''Mother and childhood'' (2011) for male voice * ''Invisible Forbidden City'' (2011) for male voice * ''To meet again, in days gone by'' (2014) for male and female voice; theme song 2 for promotion of film "Coming Home" * ''Following in your footsteps, till the end of the world'' (2014) for male voice; theme song 1 for promotion of film "Coming Home" * ''Dream'' (2014) for female voice; theme song for subject-live performance at Dragon Tiger Mountain, JiangxiMusic for open air project
* Music for the Opening Ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games (2008) # Scroll Painting # Ritual Music # You and MeMusic for film
* "Under the Hawthorn Tree" (2010) * "Flowers of War" (2011) * "Coming Home" (2014)Publishers
* Gérard Billaudot (Paris, from 1985 to 2007) * Boosey & Hawkes (London, since 2008) * Durand (for ''La Nuit profonde'' & ''Raise the Red Lantern'')General references
* BBC NOW/Zhang review – hypnotic, seductive stuff: Qigang Chen's beguiling score was conducted with love and care by Xian Zhang, who also brought grand passion to Rachmaninov's second symphony (Royal Albert Hall, London) https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/30/bbcnow-zhang-chen-premiere-prom-15 * Proms 2015: Prom 15, Prokofiev, Qigang Chen & Rachmaninov, review: 'beguiling' https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/proms/11770347/Proms-2015-Prom-15-Prokofiev-Qigang-Chen-and-Rachmaninov-review-beguiling.html * Prom, 15, review: Qigang Chen's Iris devoilee shows an interesting way forward https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/prom-15-review-qigang-chens-iris-devoilee-shows-an-interesting-way-forward-10426743.html * Prom 2: A tentative orchestra but a dazzling soloist https://bachtrack.com/review-proms-china-philharmonic-balsom-july-2014 * BBC Proms: China Philharmonic, review: a triumph of programming. The visit from the China Philharmonic to the Proms was full of shrewd choices says Ivan Hewett https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/proms/10979129/BBC-Proms-China-Philharmonic-review-a-triumph-of-programming.html * Prom 2: China Philharmonic Orchestra/Yu review – a bit too cool https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/20/prom-2-china-philharmonic-orchestra-yu-review * Memories of son inspire composer Chen Qigang to escape his creative abyss http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1767928/memories-son-inspire-composer-chen-qigang-escape-his-creative-abyss * Konzert West-östliche Klangspiele: Long Yu dirigiert die Münchner Philharmoniker http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/konzert-west-oestliche-klangspiele-1.3042458 * München/Die Münchner Philharmoniker – Qigang Chen – Gustav Mahler http://der-neue-merker.eu/muenchendie-muenchner-philharmoniker-qigang-chen-gustav-mahler * The China NCPA Orchestra is (mostly) brilliant at Koerner Hall in Toronto http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/music/the-china-ncpa-orchestra-is-mostly-brilliant-at-koerner-hall-in-toronto * Beijing orchestra makes impressive showing in Chicago debut http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2014/11/beijing-orchestra-makes-impressive-showing-in-chicago-debut/ * China's National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra is four years old and on tour https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/music/visiting-chinese-orchestra-gives-energetic-performance *Qigang Chen: Works http://www.chenqigang.com/works.phpExternal links