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Xilin Wang
About Xilin Wang
Xilin Wang is one of the most significant composers in China, distinct for his expressive and dramatic musical language and his subversive politics. Wang was born in Kaifeng in Henan Province of China in 1936, less than a year before the start of the Sino-Japanese war. His father’s untimely death and family poverty led him to join an art troupe in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army aged 12 and in 1955 at the age of 19 he was sent to the Central Military Music Conducting School in Beijing where, for the first time, he had access to music by western composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
In 1957, he was admitted to the department of composing and conducting of Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied with Liu Zhuang, Chen Mingzhi, Ding Shande and Qu Wei. After five years of study and an increasingly complicated relationship with Chinese politics, Wang composed his Symphony No. 1 as his graduation work in 1962. This was followed by an appointment as Composer in Residence with the Beijing Central Radio Symphony Orchestra. Wang’s 1963 symphonic suite Yunnan Tone Poem was later awarded the highest prize given by the Chinese government.
In 1963, shortly before the onset of the Cultural Revolution, Wang’s expression of ardent and controversial opinions during a public lecture, in which he criticised the government’s art policies, soon led to his persecution and he was banished to Shanxi Province for 14 years. Until 1971 he worked as a labourer in a Datong labour camp facing persecution, torture and imprisonment; in the subsequent years of exile he was appointed conductor of the Southeast Shanxi Song and Dance Ensemble. During this time, Wang composed six conformist works endorsing political propaganda.
Wang returned to Beijing in 1978 following the end of the Cultural Revolution and was for the first time introduced to the music of the major Western compositional figures of the 20th century, previously banned: Schoeberg, Bartók, Stravinsky, Penderecki, among others. This had a strong influence on Wang’s compositional technique as he began to employ sequencing, minimalism and tone clusters, as well as incorporating elements of local folk music into his symphonic works. He was finally able to pursue his career in composition and did so with aid from Li Delun, conductor of the China Central Philharmonic.
In 2023 Wang Bing's documentary Man in Black, a sixty-minute sensory tribute to Xilin Wang premiered at Cannes Film Festival.
Wang’s extensive oeuvre comprises ten symphonies, numerous concertos, symphonic suites, overtures, and music for film, as well as a body of chamber and vocal works. His works have been performed throughout China and Europe.
Worklist
Chronology
Born in Kaifeng in Henan Province, China
Joins People's Liberation Army due to family poverty
Begins studies at the Beijing Military Music Conducting School, Central Military Commission in China
Studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the instruction of Liu Zhuang, Chen Mingzhi, Ding Shande and Qu Wei
Composes the first movement of Symphony No. 1 as his graduation project, supervised by Qu Wei
Appointed Composer in Residence with Beijing Central Radio Symphony Orchestra
Premiere of Yunnan Tone Poem
Exiled to the Yanbei Arts Troupe in Datong City, Shanxi province, following government persecution
Criticized publicly, tortured and imprisoned as a counter-revolutionary during the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Released from prison as political unrest subsided
Encounters previously banned music by prominent Western composers: Schoenberg, Bartók, Stravinsky and Penderecki among others
Begins to employ serialism, minimalism and tone clusters, as well as integrating regional folk music into his works.
Yunnan Tone Poem awarded the highest prize by the Chinese Government
Symphonic Suite "Musical Images of Mountain Taihang" premiered by the American Modern Ensemble
Composes music for the notable Chinese film A Small Boat
Composes music for the film The Last Day of Winter
Yunnan Tone Poem tours Europe with the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra
Composes Symphony No. 3
Composes music for the film Forging Swords including recordings of his own singing
Visits the USA and participates in the Festival of Music by Contemporary Chinese Composers at SUNY Buffalo aided by the Asian Cultural Council of the Rockefeller Foundation. Delivers lectures at 8 universities including Yale University and the University of Cincinnati
Premiere of Spring Rain, awarded the highest prize in the China National Art Songs Competition
A political statement during a dress rehearsal causes the Chinese Government to cancel a portrait concert
Premiere of Symphony No. 4 in Taipei and Taichung by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra
Composes Symphony No. 5
Symphonic Murals "Legends of the Sea" awarded China 10th National Music Competition Symphonic Music Prize
Premiere of Symphony No. 6, commissioned by Beijing Symphony Orchestra
Premiere of Symphony No. 7 at the celebration concert for the 80th anniversary of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Premieres of Symphony No. 8 in Shanghai, Tianjin and Berin
Premiere of Concerto for Piano and Orchestra at the 10th Switzerland Culturescapes International Arts Festival in Zurich
Symphony No. 8 awarded China 16th National Music Competition Symphonic Music Prize
Schott Music begins to publish the works of Wang Xilin
Premiere of Symphony No. 9 "China Requiem" on China's National Public Memorial Day
Premiere of Symphony No. 10
Recording of Symphonic Suite "Murals of the Yellow River" wins Best Classical Original Album Award from the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association
Relocates from China to Germany
Finalises Symphony No. 2, begun in 1979
Documentary Man in Black, a film about Xilin Wang directed by Wang Bing, chosen for the Special Screenings at the 76th Festival de Cannes
Completed the opera Casting Swords which has been in preparation for over 30 years
Products
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Composer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: piano and orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material -
for orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material
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Composer: Xilin WangOrchestra/ensemble: China National Symphony OrchestraConductor: Emmanuel SiffertMedia Type: CDProduct number: WER 73922CDCDIn stock€18.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material
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for 22 stringsComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreInstrumentation: string orchestraProduct number: ED 13856Print editionPrint editionOut of stock€22.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for 22 stringsComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: string orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material -
for three traditional Chinese instruments and chamber orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: three traditional Chinese instruments and chamber orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material
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- In preparation
for orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreInstrumentation: orchestraProduct number: ED 13855Print editionPrint editionOut of stock€33.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material
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Symphonic Suite for orchestraComposer: Xilin WangMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestraHire/performance materialHire/performance material
