Contemporary classical music composer Chou Wen-chung (1923-2019) moved to the United States in 1946 during political upheavals in China. He studied composition with Nicolas Slonimsky at the New England Conservatory, Otto Luening (53, 54) at Columbia University, and, most significantly, in private with Edgard Varèse, the 1965 MacDowell Medal recipient. He became Varèse’s assistant and, following Varèse’s death, curator of his musical estate. He bought and lived with his family in the Varèse Greenwich Village home, filled with magnificent memorabilia from both Varèse and China.
His earliest work, Landscapes (1949), is often cited as the first composition in music history that is independent of either Western or Eastern musical grammar. His unique canon of work, a contemporary expression of the principles of traditional Chinese aesthetics, has had a momentous impact on the development of modern music in Asia and in post-colonial cultures.
Chou began his teaching career at Columbia in 1954 in the nascent Electronic Music Center, and served on the composition faculty from 1964 until his retirement in 1991. He helped create the doctorate in music composition and served as vice-chair of the School of the Arts. In 1978, he founded the US-China Arts Exchange, which brought Western artists to China and Chinese musicians to the United States. Following the Cultural Revolution, some of China’s most gifted young composers came to study with him at Columbia, including Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Bright Sheng (85, 88), and Tan Dun. In 1984 he became the Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition. Outside of Columbia, he played a major role in institutions that supported contemporary American music.
His orchestral compositions such as And the Fallen Petals, All in the Spring Wind, and Landscapes have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Central Philharmonic in Beijing. In 1992, Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra premiered at Carnegie Hall and in 1996, his String Quartet No. 1 Clouds was premiered at Lincoln Center by the Brentano String Quartet. Chou’s accomplishments have been recognized with countless awards in the fields of music, education, and international cultural exchange.
He was a life member of the Academy of Arts and Letters and in 2001 was named Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture in France.
