Xu Yi (徐儀; born 1963) is a Chinese-born French composer and music educator in France.
Early life
In 1963, Xu was born in Nanjing, China. Xu Yi began playing the Chinese violin, erhu, at a very young age.
Education
Xu Yi was a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she continued the violin, and later joined the class of composition.
After her arrival in France in 1988, she studied the Cursus of Composition and Computer Music of the IRCAM (1990/1991). She entered the Conservatory of Music of Paris, where she studied with Gérard Grisey and Ivo Malec.[1]
Career
At the age of 22, Xu became a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Xu Yi won First Prize in composition in Conservatoire de Paris in 1994. She was the winner of the Prix de Rome, winning the honor of living in the Villa Medici in Rome from 1996 to 1998 (she was the first composer of Chinese origin to win this prize). Xu was professor of composition at the Cergy-Pontoise National Conservatory of Music (2001-2003). She is a distinguished Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Currently, Xu lives in France and is a distinguished Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music.
Xu Yi has received commissions from the French government, Radio France, and many festivals and ensembles. She has composed some 60 works, which have been performed at numerous festivals and broadcast in Europe, China, Japan, the US, Brazil and Canada. Several monographic concerts of Xu's music have been organized in France and in Italy. One monographic disc of her works (MFA-Radio France 1999) was distributed by Harmonia Mundi. Her work "Le Plein du Vide" was selected by the French Ministry of Education for the final high school music exam in 2006 and 2007. Many of her works are published by the music publishing House Henry Lemoine, in Paris.
Works
2023 "Ô silence", pour soprano, clarinette basse, alto et piano, Poème de Marie Closset
2022 "Cha ji / Wabi-sabi", for flute, clarinet, 2 percussions, violin and zheng (TimeArt studio commission)
2022 "Entre eux, entente à demi-mot", pour mezzo-soprano, flûte, percussion, violon et violoncelle, poème de François Cheng
2021 "Dry in a storm", for mezzo-sprano (with percussions), Poems by Joyce Shintanin and by Emily Dickinson
2021 "Echo nocturne", for birbyne solo
2020 "To wait an hour-si long",for soprano, violon ans cello, 5 Poems (Quatrains) by Emily Dickinson (Radio France commission)
2020 "The Dust of time", for percussion
2020 “Self/nonself", for yunluo (with one big cymbal)
2019 "Métamorphoses du serpent blanc", chamber opera (French State commissions), Laure Gauthier : Text and poem in French; Xu Yi : poems in chinese, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, maîtrise, little children's choir, 6 instruments and electronic device spatialized in multitrack
2019 "Qing yao", for Zheng solo (with qing)
2018 "Two rotations" for alto and percussion
2018 "Ode aux nymphéas" miniature for string quartet (ProQuartet commission)
2018 "Saveur" for percussion and danse
2017 "Aquilone lontano" for string quartet (ProQuartet and Philharmonie de Paris commissions)
2017 " Résonance végétale" for cucurbit orchestra, video and electronics spatialised
2016 "Chu Feng" - Shangpian for xiao / xun, guqin, percussion, bianqing and bianzhong (2500 years old bronze chime)
2016 "Chu Feng" - Xiapian for di / xiao, shang bass, guzheng, pipa, 2 percussion, bianqing and bianzhong (2500 years old bronze chime)
2015 "Chant des muses" for soprano, 3 ténors, choir and 13 instruments
2015 "Bœuf ” for percussion solo
2014 "Empress Wu Zetian" Lyrical drama in 3 actes (French State commissions), livret : Agnès Marietta, for 3 singers, 1 actress-singer, young girls choir, 7 musicians and electronic device spatialized in multitrack
2014 "Ombres" for violon solo
2013 "La passion selon Médée" for 1 dancer, 1 flutist, 1 percussionist and one ensemble of 11 musicians
2012 "La joie du ciel" for 5 female voice a capella
2011 "Si He" for Qin, flute, cello and percussion
2010 "Zhiyin" for cello solo
2010 "Liao" for percussion solo
2010 "Le Ciel brûle" for mezzo-soprano and percussion
2009 "Qing" for alto solo (commissions of Pro Helvetia Switzerland)
2008 "Dan" for 6 instruments
2007 "Guo feng" for violin, cello, qin and electronics spatialised (French State commissions)
2006 "Cohésion" for clarinet, 4 saxophones, 6 brass and 7 groups of specialized children with the percussions
2005 "Tai" for Zheng and orchestra
2004 "Pipa yin" for 6 instruments
2004 "1+1=3" for 11 percussions (French State commissions)
2004 "Da Xu" for 6 instruments (Radio France commissions)
2003 "La divine" silent movie in concert, for silent film of Wu Yonggang, 10 instruments and electronics spatialised (ARTE commissions)
2002 "Voyage intérieur" for 6 instruments and electronics spatialised (French State commissions)
2002 "Variations sur le thème de Y.G.S.D" for pipa and 8 instruments
2001 "Dialogue d’amour" for soprano, choir of children and 13 instruments (Radio France commissions)
2001 "Tempête sur l’Asie" silent movie in concert, for silent film of Poudovkine, 7 musicians and electronics spatialised (Louvre commissions)
2000 "Da gui" in memory of Gérard Grisey, for flute, clarinete, percussion, violon et cello (French State commissions)
1999 "Crue d’automne" scenic poem, for 1 reciter, video, 6 musicians and electronics spatialised(French State commissions)
1997 "Le Plein du Vide" for 14 instruments and electronics spatialised (French State commissions)
1997 "Écho de la terre profonde" for 5 percussions
1997 "Tian yun" Melodrama, for 1 reciter and 8 instruments
1996 "Wou Wei" for bass flute and trumpet
1996 "Solo" for flûte solo
1996 "Xiao-yao-you" for 12 instruments and electronics spatialised
1995 "Gu yin" for flute and percussion (Radio France commissions)
1994 "Huntun" for 5 instrumental groups spatialised
1993 "Wang" for flute solo, string trio and percussion
1993 "Le Roi des arbres" spoken opera in 1 acte (3 tables), for a conductor, 3 comédians and 8 musiciens
1993 "Yi" for string trio
1992 "Miroir / poussière" for alto and 9 instruments
1991 "Tui" for bass and electronics
1991 "Tao1" for 6 instruments
1988 "Esprit poétique" for Erhu (violon chinois) and Chinese orchestra
1987 "Internal moving" for soprano, clarinete, alto and piano
1986 "Symphonietta" for orchestra
1985 "Temple Hanshan" for soprano and 3 Chinese instruments
1984 "Vallée vide" for Chinese flute, zheng and sets-gong
1982 "Small frogs" for ensemble of erhu (Chinese violin)
Discographie
2013 "Si He", "Si He" for Qin, flute, cello and percussion (9')
China Record Co. Shanghai
2005 "Tai", for Zheng and orchestra, (11')
Shanghai Conservatory of Music 2005
1999 "Le Plein du Vide", "Wang", "Yi", "Echo de la terre profonde", "Gu Yin", "Xiao-Yao-You"(70') Radio France / MFA / Villa Médicis 1999,
MFA 216032 HMCD 73.
1994 "Huntun" (13') for 5 instrumental groups spatialised
Journées de la composition, CNSMP 1994.
1988 "Esprit poétique"1983-1988 (26')
for Erhu (violon chinois) and chinese orchestra
Fu Mao Record Co. Taiwan, 1988,
Fu jian Record Co. XCD-93014 / 1993, 1994.
1986 "Vallée vide" 1984 (7')
for Chinese flute, zheng and sets-gong
China Record Co. Shanghai, 1986.
1982 "Small frogs" for ensemble of erhu (Chinese violin)1982 (6')
for ensemble of erhu (Chinese violin), China Record Co. Shanghai, 1982.