Qu Xixian

Qu Xixian (23 September 1919 – 19 March 2008 ) was a Chinese composer. She was born in Shanghai and graduated from Shanghai National Conservatory of Music in 1948 with degrees in composition and piano. She had a full, eventful career that spanned several eras of important Chinese history. She worked with the Central Philharmonic Society and held several leadership positions on the board of the Chinese Musicians’ Association. Her choral works were performed in 1997, 1999 and 2000 in Beijing and Shanghai. Early life and education Xixian was born to parents Qu Baowen and Zhu Pingyu on September 23, 1919 in Shanghai. She loved music from a very young age, and began her formal music education during her childhood. In 1939, Xixian studied with German-Jewish composer, Wolfgang Fraenkel while he was living in Shanghai. Fraenkel had a profound influence on Xixian, as well as other prominent Chinese composers such as Ding Shande and Sang Tong. From 1940 to 1948, Xixian studied piano and composition at the Shanghai National Conservatory. Among her many teachers was Tan Xiaolin, a former pupil of Paul Hindemith, before his return to the United States in 1944. In 2010, the work was performed by