Qu Xiao-Song ( 瞿

小 Radical 42 or radical small () meaning "small" or "insignificant" is one of the 31 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals total) composed of three strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 41 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radic ...

松; surname Qu, b.

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

province, southwest China, September 6, 1952) is a Chinese composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. He is a 1983 graduate of the

Central Conservatory of Music The Central Conservatory of Music () is a prestigious leading public music school of China and a member of Double First Class University Plan and former Project 211. Its campus is in the Xicheng District of Beijing, China, near Fuxingmen Statio ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where he studied composition with

Du Mingxin Du Mingxin (; b. August 19, 1928) is a Chinese composer known for his work on ballets, concertos and a symphonic Beijing Opera. Biography His early studies include time at the famous Yucai School in Chongqing. He moved to Shanghai in 1948, where ...

. In 1989 he was invited by the Center for US-China Arts Exchange of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to be a visiting scholar, and he continues to live in

. He has received commissions from the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minn ...

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (; abbreviated HKCO) was founded in 1977. The orchestra has won the accolades as “a leader in Chinese ethnic music” and “a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong”. It is often invited to perform at famous venues ...

, and

Boston Musica Viva Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music. Composers and compositions In its 44-year history, Boston Musica Viva has performed m ...

. His operas ''Oedipus'' and ''The Death of Oedipus'' were premiered in 1993 and 1994 respectively, in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. His chamber opera ''The Test'' (2004) was commissioned by the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Musi ...

and Contemporary Opera Berlin, and performed in both cities in May 2004. His name is sometimes also written Qu Xiaosong.

Music

Chamber music

*''Cello Concerto for cello and chamber ensemble'' *''Cursive'', violoncello and percussion ensemble *''Ji No. 1'', large mixed ensemble *''Ji No. 2, Floating Clouds'', mixed quartet, Asian instrument and ensemble *''Ji No. 3: Silent Mountain'', solo guitar or Asian instrument *''Ji No. 4'', percussion solo *''Ji No. 5'', Asian instrument and ensemble *''Ji No. 6'', percussion ensemble, large mixed ensemble *''Ji No. 7'', solo violin or violoncello *''Lam Mot'', percussion ensemble *''String Symphony'', string orchestra *''The Girl of the Mountain'', string solo and orchestra *''Xi'', percussion ensemble

Orchestral works

*''Cello Concerto for cello and full orchestra'' *''Symphony No. 1 *''Huan'' *''The Mountain''

Vocal works

*''Fang Yan Kou'', low voice and ensemble *''Mist'', vocal soloists and ensemble *''Mist 2'', high voice and ensemble *''Mist 3'', high voice and ensemble *''Mong Dong'', low voice and ensemble *''Weisst du wie der Regen klingt.../Rain'', mixed chorus and ensemble

Oratorio

*''Cleaving the Coffin: Oratorio'', mixed chorus, vocal soloists and ensemble

Opera

*''Life on a String'' *''Oedipus'' *''The Death of Oedipus'' *''The Test''

Trivia

*Qu dated the Chinese actress

Bai Ling Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese-American actress known for her work in the films ''The Crow'', ''Nixon'', ''Red Corner'', '' Crank: High Voltage'', ''Dumplings'', ''Wild Wild West'', ''Anna and the King'', ''Southland Tales'', and ...

in the mid-1990s.Bai Ling: The innocent past story
(in Chinese)

References

External links

Peermusic Classical: Qu Xiao-Song page
Composer's Publisher and Bio
Qu Xiao-Song biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qu, Xiao Song 1952 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers People's Republic of China composers Place of birth missing (living people) People from Guiyang Musicians from Guizhou Chinese male classical composers Chinese classical composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians