Tang Jianping

In 1978, he began composition studies with Professor Zhang Shouming and Professor Huo Cunhui at the Shenyang Conservatory, and in 1985 he was accepted into the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. While at his studies at the Central Conservatory, Tang would recieved both his master’s and doctorate degrees under the tutelage of Prof. Su Xi – becoming the first student trained entirely in China to receive a post-graduate degree in composition.
Tang Jianping is one of China’s most successful contemporary composers, and has composed in virtually every genre and style, including electronic compositions, works for ethnic instrumental ensembles, film scores, and music for television. Throughout this diverse output one consistently finds a distinctive Chinese humanistic spirit, whether the source of inspiration directly quotes folk material or its philosophic orientation. In addition to his work as a composer, Tang is the head of the Composition Department of The Central Conservatory of Music, a founding member of the Chinese Folk Orchestra Society, creative director for the China Symphony Development Foundation, director of the Chinese Opera Research Institute, a passionate scholar of ethnic musicology, and a popular dissertation coach for doctoral students.
His representative works include: Chun Qiu (pipa concerto inspired by The Spring and Autumn Annals, attributed to Confucius), Cang Cai, the percussion concerto Sacred Fire 2008, Fei Ge (The Flying Song), Shaolin in the Wind, Jing Wei (music for the dance drama), White Horses among the Reeds (cantata on Buddhist themes), music for the television documentary The Forbidden City, Genghis Khan (a dramatic cantata for Mongolian throat singers, ethnic instruments, soloists, choir and orchestra) and the opera Song of Youth, (based on the popular 1959 patriotic film of the same name). Tang’s music has received numerous national awards, including the first “Golden Bell” Award for composition (for the pipa concerto Chun Qiu), Lotus Dance Drama Award and the Ministry of Culture’s distinguished Wenhua music award.