Composer
1894-1965

Russian-born Jewish composer Aaron Avshalomov spent nearly three decades living and working in Shanghai after fleeing the Russian pograms. There, he became a major figure in the development of Chinese classical music before emigrating to the United States in 1947. His 1931 symphonic poem Hutongs of Peking paints a vivid portrait of the city’s bustling street life. The Orchestra Now will perform this vibrant piece during the opening concert of the 2022 China Now Music Festival on October 7 at Bard College and October 9 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Composer
1893-1950

Abing, born as Hua Yanjun, was a blind Chinese street musician and composer who was well known in his hometown of Wuxi during his lifetime for his soulful erhu playing, and is now considered to be one of the most influential musicians of Chinese music in the 20th Century. His most famous musical work is Erquan Yingyue which can be translated as Moon Reflecting on Erquan Pond. An orchestral version of this iconic piece will be performed during the final concert of this year’s China Now Music Festival on October 22 at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

Composer
1899-1977

Russian-born composer and pianist Alexander Tcherepnin had a lifelong interest in China, and composed many pieces with Chinese musical or folkloric influences. The one-act chamber opera The Nymph and The Farmer features a libretto in French by Siao Yu based on a tale from Chinese folklore. This opera has rarely been performed and will be presented in concert format during the 2022 China Now Music Festival’s final concert Journey to the East: the Music of Alexander Tcherepnin and the Art of Xu Beihong on October 22 at Alice Tully Hall.

Composer
1910-1983

A student of Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin, Jiang Wenye was born in Taiwan and lived and worked in both Japan and mainland China during his lifetime. He composed two works being performed at the 2022 China Now Music Festival’s final concert, Journey to the East: the Music of Alexander Tcherepnin and the Art of Xu Beihong, on October 22, 2022 at Alice Tully Hall: Taiwan Dance and the third movement of Xu Beihong's Color-And-Ink Paintings, a piano concerto composed for Xu’s daughter which was lost during the Cultural Revolution and only recently recovered.

Composer
b. 1949

Chinese-Canadian composer Huang Anlun was commissioned by the 2022 China Now Music Festival to compose a work in honor of the painter Xu Beihong. The resulting piece, Capriccio Xu Beihong, references iconic paintings from Xu’s immense ouevre - including the world renowned ink painting Six Galloping Horses (1942) - and will receive it’s world premiere at the concert Journey to the East: the Music of Alexander Tcherepnin and the Art of Xu Beihong at Alice Tully Hall on October 22.

Composer
b. 1955

Xiaogang Ye is regarded as one of China’s leading contemporary composers. He studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in China and after graduation was appointed Resident Composer and Lecturer there. In the 1980’s he studied at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester in New York. Ye’s oeuvre comprises symphonic works, a range of chamber music, stage works and film music, and much of his music bears a connection to Chinese culture and tradition. His Great Wall Symphony, composed in 2002, will be performed during the 2022 China Now Music Festival in the Tales from Beijing concerts on October 7 at Bard College and on October 9 at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This monumental work consists of nine movements drawing on traditional folk tunes, and features vocal parts and traditional Chinese musical instruments.

Composer
b. 1956

Celebrated throughout the world as a leading composer of the Chinese avant-garde, Guo is a member of the distinguished composition faculty at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. His opera Rickshaw Boy (2014) was commissioned by the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing and was performed there in 2014 and 2017, as well as touring Italy in 2015. The 2022 China Now Music Festival Tales from Beijing concerts at Bard College on October 7 and Jazz at Lincoln Center on October 9 will premiere Selections from Rickshaw Boy - Xiangzi and Huniu for orchestra and voice, created by Guo especially for the festival and featuring selected scenes from the opera.

Composer
b. 1971

Hao Weiya is a highly respected composer best known for his ambitious completion of Puccini’s unfinished opera Turondot. Hao serves on the faculty of the Central Conservatory of Music, China, in addition to composing operas, symphonies, ballets, and film scores. His haunting chamber opera, Painted Skin, was premiered in Shanghai in 2019. The 2022 China Now Music Festival will present a new production of the opera with an American spin on October 13 at Hudson Hall in Hudson, NY, and on October 15 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.