Xu Yi
Encyclopedia
Biography
Xu Yi began studying music in her hometown of Nanjing, learning erhuErhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
, a traditional Chinese musical instrument similar to the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. She continued her studies on the instrument at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and then joined the composition class at the age of 17. Five years later, she was appointed professor at the Shanghai Conservatory.
Xu Yi then traveled in France to study at the IRCAM and the Paris Conservatory where she studied with Gerard Grisey
Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
and Ivo Malec
Ivo Malec
Ivo Malec is a Croatian composer and music educator. One of the earliest Yugoslav composers to obtain high international regard, his works have been performed by symphony orchestras throughout Europe and North America. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb and the Conservatoire de Paris,...
. She obtained a First Prize for composition in 1994. She became the first composer of Chinese origin to win the Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
, and from 1996 to 1998 she studied at the Villa Medici
Villa Medici
The Villa Medici is a mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and now property of the French...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. She was a professor of composition at the Conservatoire National de Region of Cergy-Pontoise until 2003. She currently lives in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and is a visiting professor at the Shanghai Conservatory.
Works
Xu Yi has composed about thirty works, including several commissioned by the French State, and by Radio FranceRadio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
. Her principal work Le Plein du vide (The Full Vacuum) was on the agenda of the music option in Bachelor of Arts in 2006 and 2007. Her works have been performed at numerous festivals and broadcast in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the U.S.A. and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Selected works include:
- 1 + 1 = 3 (2004) for solo percussion and 2 percussion ensembles
- Da Gui (1999) for flute, clarinet, percussion, violin and cello
- Dan (2008) for di (Chinese flute), clarinet, pipa, zheng, violin and cello
- Echo de la terre profonde (1997) for 5 percussions
- Guo Feng (2006–07) for violin, cello, qin and electronics
- Gu Yin (1995) for flute and percussion
- Le Plein du vide (1997) for ensemble and electronics
- Miroir / Poussière for viola and 9 instruments (1992)
- Voyage intérieur (2002) for ensemble and electronics
- Wou Wei (1995) for bass flute and trumpet
- Xiao-Yao-You (1996) for ensemble and electronics
- Yi (1993) for string trio