Qu Xiao-Song


Qu Xiao-Song is a Chinese composer of contemporary classical music.
He is a 1983 graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied composition with Du Mingxin. In 1989 he was invited by the Center for US-China Arts Exchange of Columbia University in New York City to be a visiting scholar, and he continues to live in New York City.
He has received commissions from the Holland Festival, American Composers Forum, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and Boston Musica Viva.
His operas Oedipus and The Death of Oedipus were premiered in 1993 and 1994 respectively, in Stockholm and Amsterdam. His chamber opera The Test was commissioned by the Munich Biennale and Contemporary Opera Berlin, and performed in both cities in May 2004.
His name is sometimes also written Qu Xiaosong.

Music

Chamber music

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 in the mid-1990s.