Chou Wen-Chung

about

Chou Wen-chung (周文中; pinyin: Zhōu Wénzhōng, surname Chou, June 29, 1923 - October 25, 2019) was a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. Born in Yantai, Shandong, China, he emigrated in 1946 to the United States. He is a protégé of the composer and visionary, Edgard Varèse. Chou has sought in his music not simply to propagate Varèsian concepts, but to move beyond his teacher's shadow. From Varèse's purely Western tradition, Chou's music evolves from cross-cultural pollination, integrating the East and the West, with the requisite understanding of both cultures. He can be regarded as the founder of the contemporary Chinese musical idiom, one whose music sets the standard and an example for succeeding generations to emulate. Chou's revolutionary insights brought about a broader and more integrated perception of Chinese music by scholars and laymen East and West. He recognizes the intrinsic contribution of qin music and the singletone concept to Chinese music, and more importantly, he recognizes their value to composers. ("The Twain Meet" by Leighton Kerner.) Also important to his music is the refinement of individual pitches. He believes the West has mastered formal structures, whereas the East remains unexcelled in controlling subtle inflections of tones. By emulating Western achievement in formal design, he employs these nuances not as mere decoration, but as a clear structural element. The art of calligraphy, in its various levels of meaning, serves c

top songs

albums

Music of Chou Wen-Chung

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Tribute to Chou Wen Chung

Chou Wen-chung: Eternal Pine

Chou Wen-chung: Clouds

Works By Chou Wen-Chung

Echoes From the Gorge

Eternal Pine

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Dim Sum

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String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 - Twilight Colors

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Music of Fischer, Nagel, Chou & Lessard

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Echoes From the Gorge: Music by Chou Wen-Chung

Clouds

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