Chinese composer, Xixian Qu (1919 – 2008) graduated from the Shanghai National Conservatory of Music in 1948 with a composition degree and a piano degree. She held many significant roles in her full and eventful career, including the Director of the Chinese Musicians Association (1979). Qu was trained by the German-Jewish composer, Wolfgang Fraenkel, whilst he was living in Shanghai during 1939. After graduating from Shanghai, Qu quickly started teaching harmony and music history at the Beijing Art Institute (Beijing Opera Arts College).
Much of Qu’s work reflects the political periods she lived through in China, such as New China or the Cultural Revolution. Her pieces directly opposed the communist Chinese government’s plan of controlling social messages through music, as shown through “Quan Shijie Renmin Xin Yi Tiao” (“All The World’s People Are of the Same Mind”). Many of her pieces also reflect the issues which the lower-class Chinese people were facing, such as an impoverished boy supporting himself by towing a rickshaw in The Rickshaw Boy.
Qu professionally composed music for a variety of groups, including the Central Song and Dance Ensemble (Central National Music Ensemble), and the Central Philharmonic Society. She’s particularly known for her choral work, exemplified by “Pastoral” below. Her hallmark was the use of Chinese folk tunes with Western harmony.
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