Tona Scherchen facts for kids

Tona Scherchen, also known as Tona Scherchen-Hsiao, was born on March 12, 1938. She is a famous composer who helped bring Chinese music ideas into modern European music.

Her Life Story

Tona Scherchen was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. She grew up in a family of musicians. Her father, Hermann Scherchen, was a conductor. Her mother, Xiao Shuxian, was also a composer.

Tona lived in Europe, mostly in Switzerland, for her first 12 years. In 1950, she moved to China with her mother and older sister. She returned to Europe in 1956 to study music further with her father. She learned from important teachers like György Ligeti and Hans Werner Henze.

After the 1960s, Tona became a busy composer. Her music was often played in modern music concerts. Big music companies published her works. People wrote articles about her as a composer. She was very active in the music world, especially in France.

Her Music Style

Tona Scherchen's music mixes new European music ideas from the 1960s and 70s with her own style. Many of her songs have Chinese names. The influence from Chinese art and ideas is more about feelings and concepts than direct sounds.

One special piece is Yi. It is a suite for a marimba played by two people. In this piece, she used folk tunes she heard while living in China. It is a very touching song. She dedicated it to her mother, whom she could not see for a long time because of political reasons.

Some of Tona's music has been recorded and sold. Today, you can find Lo for trombone and strings, and Shen for six percussion players on CDs. All her music is also available in print.

Selected Works and Publishers

Tona Scherchen's music has been published by well-known companies. These include Universal Edition, Boosey & Hawkes, Alfred Peschek, and Amphion. She wrote music for orchestras, solo instruments, and voices.

Her works include:

• Tzang for chamber orchestra (1966)
• Khouang (1966–1968)
• Tao for viola solo and orchestra (1971–1972)
• Lo for trombone solo and 12 string instruments (1978–1979)
• In for flute solo (1966)
• Shen (神), for percussion (1968)
• Yi (忆), 7 Brief Images for marimbaphone (2 players) (1973)
• Radar for piano (1983)
• Tzi for 16 voices (1969–1970)

Recordings of Her Music

You can find recordings of Tona Scherchen's music on these albums:

• Shen, played by Les Percussions de Strasbourg, released by Philips (1972). It was also released on CD Accord in 2012.
• Yi, played by Michael Askill and Détlef Kieffer, released by L'apostrophe (1973).
• In, played by Eberhard Blum, released by Alea, HatHut CD (1997).