Liu Zhuang (musician) facts for kids
Liu Zhuang (born October 24, 1932 – died June 30, 2011) was a talented Chinese composer. She was born in Shanghai, a big city in China. When she was a child in Hongzhou, she started learning to play the piano from her father.
Liu Zhuang later went to the Shanghai Conservatory, a famous music school. There, she studied how to compose music with well-known teachers like Ding Shande, Sang Tong, and Den Erjing. She even continued her music studies in Russia with a teacher named Guroff.
After finishing her studies, Liu Zhuang taught music at the Shanghai Conservatory. Later, she moved to Beijing and taught at the Central Conservatory of Music. She also worked as a composer for the Central Philharmonic Society of Beijing, writing music for them. From 1989 to 2003, she was a special teacher and scholar at Syracuse University in the United States. She even appeared as herself in a documentary film called A Tale of the Wind in 1988.
Her Music and Works
Liu Zhuang wrote many different kinds of music. Here are some of her well-known pieces:
- The Yellow River Concerto: A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument (like a piano) and an orchestra.
- Living Waters: This was a choral piece, meaning it was written for a choir to sing.
- Wind Through Pines: This piece was written for three instruments: a flute, a cello, and a prepared piano. A prepared piano is a piano that has objects placed on or between its strings to change its sound.
- Three Chinese Songs
- Yimeng Mountain Ditty
Recordings and Films
You can find Liu Zhuang's music on CDs. One of her works was included on a CD called American Masters for the 21st Century, released in 2004. Her music has also been used in movies, like the film Une Histoire De Vent.
