Xu Yi (composer)

Xu Yi is a Chinese-born French composer and music educator in France.

Early life

In 1963, Xu Yi was born in Nanjing, China.
Xu Yi began playing the Chinese violin, erhu, at a very young age.

Education

Xu Yi was a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she continued the violin, and later joined the class of composition.
After her arrival in France in 1988, she studied the Cursus of Composition and Computer Music of the IRCAM. She entered the Conservatory of Music of Paris, where she studied with Gérard Grisey and Ivo Malec.

Career

At the age of 22, Xu became a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Xu Yi won First Prize in composition in Conservatoire de Paris in 1994. She was the winner of the Prix de Rome, winning the honor of living in the Villa Medici in Rome from 1996 to 1998. Xu was professor of composition at the Cergy-Pontoise National Conservatory of Music. She is a distinguished Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Currently, Xu lives in France and is a distinguished Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music.
Xu Yi has received commissions from the French government, Radio France, and many festivals and ensembles. She has composed some 60 works, which have been performed at numerous festivals and broadcast in Europe, China, Japan, the US, Brazil and Canada. Several monographic concerts of Xu's music have been organized in France and in Italy. One monographic disc of her works was distributed by Harmonia Mundi. Her work "Le Plein du Vide" was selected by the French Ministry of Education for the final high school music exam in 2006 and 2007. Many of her works are published by the music publishing House Henry Lemoine, in Paris.

Works

2025 "Space-time of the heart", for 11 percussionists, electroacoustics, and video art
2024-25 "Cinq transformations", for string quartet N.3
2024 "Vers le vide parfait", for string quartet N.2
2023 "Trois poèmes anciens", for mezzo-soprano, qin and percussions, poems de Xu Mu, Xue Tao, Xu Can
2023 "Ô silence", for soprano, bass clarinet, viola and piano, Poem of Marie Closset
2022 "Cha ji / Wabi-sabi", for flute, clarinet, 2 percussions, violin and zheng
2022 "Entre eux, entente à demi-mot", for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion, violin and cello, poem of François Cheng
2021 "Dry in a storm", for mezzo-sprano, Poems by Joyce Shintanin and by Emily Dickinson
2021 "Echo nocturne", for birbyne solo
2020 "To wait an hour-si long", for soprano, violon ans cello, 5 Poems by Emily Dickinson
2020 "The Dust of time", for percussion
2020 "Self/nonself", for yunluo
2019 "Métamorphoses du serpent blanc", chamber opera, Laure Gauthier : Text and poem in French; Xu Yi : poems in chinese, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, maîtrise, little children's choir, 6 instruments and electronic device spatialized in multitrack
2019 "Qing yao", for Zheng solo
2018 "Two rotations" for alto and percussion
2018 "Ode aux nymphéas" miniature for string quartet
2018 "Saveur" for percussion and danse
2017 "Aquilone lontano" for string quartet N.1
2017 " Résonance végétale" for cucurbit orchestra, video and electronics spatialised
2016 "Chu Feng" - Shangpian for xiao / xun, guqin, percussion, bianqing and bianzhong
2016 "Chu Feng" - Xiapian for di / xiao, shang bass, guzheng, pipa, 2 percussion, bianqing and bianzhong
2015 "Chant des muses" for soprano, 3 ténors, choir and 13 instruments
2015 "Bœuf" for percussion solo
2014 "Empress Wu Zetian" Lyrical drama in 3 actes, livret : Agnès Marietta, for 3 singers, 1 actress-singer, young girls choir, 7 musicians and electronic device spatialized in multitrack
2014 "Ombres" for violon solo
2013 "La passion selon Médée" for 1 dancer, 1 flutist, 1 percussionist and one ensemble of 11 musicians
2012 "La joie du ciel" for 5 female voice a capella
2011 "Si He" for Qin, flute, cello and percussion
2010 "Zhiyin" for cello solo
2010 "Liao" for percussion solo
2010 "Le Ciel brûle" for mezzo-soprano and percussion
2009 "Qing" for alto solo
2008 "Dan" for 6 instruments
2007 "Guo feng" for violin, cello, qin and electronics spatialised
2006 "Cohésion" for clarinet, 4 saxophones, 6 brass and 7 groups of specialized children with the percussions
2005 "Tai" for Zheng and orchestra
2004 "Pipa yin" for 6 instruments
2004 "1+1=3" for 11 percussions
2004 "Da Xu" for 6 instruments
2003 "La divine" silent movie in concert, for silent film of Wu Yonggang, 10 instruments and electronics spatialised
2002 "Voyage intérieur" for 6 instruments and electronics spatialised
2002 "Variations sur le thème de Y.G.S.D" for pipa and 8 instruments
2001 "Dialogue d’amour" for soprano, choir of children and 13 instruments
2001 "Tempête sur l’Asie" silent movie in concert, for silent film of Poudovkine, 7 musicians and electronics spatialised
2000 "Da gui" in memory of Gérard Grisey, for flute, clarinete, percussion, violon et cello
1999 "Crue d’automne" scenic poem, for 1 reciter, video, 6 musicians and electronics spatialised
1997 "Le Plein du Vide" for 14 instruments and electronics spatialised
1997 "Écho de la terre profonde" for 5 percussions
1997 "Tian yun" Melodrama, for 1 reciter and 8 instruments
1996 "Wou Wei" for bass flute and trumpet
1996 "Solo" for flûte solo
1996 "Xiao-yao-you" for 12 instruments and electronics spatialised
1995 "Gu yin" for flute and percussion
1994 "Huntun" for 5 instrumental groups spatialised
1993 "Wang" for flute solo, string trio and percussion
1993 "Le Roi des arbres" spoken opera in 1 acte, for a conductor, 3 comédians and 8 musiciens
1993 "Yi" for string trio
1992 "Miroir / poussière" for alto and 9 instruments
1991 "Tui" for bass and electronics
1991 "Tao1" for 6 instruments
1988 "Esprit poétique" for Erhu and Chinese orchestra
1987 "Internal moving" for soprano, clarinete, alto and piano
1986 "Symphonietta" for orchestra
1985 "Temple Hanshan" for soprano and 3 Chinese instruments
1984 "Vallée vide" for Chinese flute, zheng and sets-gong
1983 "Pine wave" for piano solo
1982 "Small frogs" for ensemble of erhu

Discographie

2017 "Zhiyin" cello solo, CD of the"Collection of Excellent Works by Alumni from SHCM" pour "The 90th Anniversary of Shanghai Conservatory of Music" 2017
2013 "Si He", "Si He" for Qin, flute, cello and percussion China Record Co. Shanghai
2005 "Tai", for Zheng and orchestra, CD Shanghai Conservatory of Music 2005
1999 "Le Plein du Vide", "Wang", "Yi", "Echo de la terre profonde", "Gu Yin", "Xiao-Yao-You" Radio France / MFA / Villa Médicis 1999, MFA 216032 HMCD 73.
1994 "Huntun" for 5 instrumental groups spatialised CD Journées de la composition, CNSMP 1994.
1988 "Esprit poétique"1983-1988, for Erhu and chinese orchestra, Fu Mao Record Co. Taiwan, 1988, Fu jian Record Co. XCD-93014 / 1993, 1994.
1986 "Vallée vide" 1984, for Chinese flute, zheng and sets-gong China Record Co. Shanghai, 1986.
1982 "Small frogs" for ensemble of erhu 1982, China Record Co. Shanghai, 1982.