Performers › Composers
Chen Gang
Shanghai composer, son of Chen Gexin, who co-wrote the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with He Zhanhao and later the violin concerto Wang Zhaojun.
Mural of the cultural record “Chinese Works for Western Instruments”, which this person is tied to.
- Roles
- Composers
Chen Gang was born in Shanghai on 10 March 1935, the son of the composer Chen Gexin. As a child he studied piano and composition with the Hungarian musician Walla, and in 1955 he entered the composition programme of the Shanghai Conservatory, studying with Ding Shande and Sang Tong. While still a student he and He Zhanhao wrote the violin concerto The Butterfly Lovers, based on the Yue opera Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai; it was premiered in Shanghai on 27 May 1959. He later became a professor of composition at the conservatory, and his works include the violin piece Morning in the Miao Mountains (1975) and the violin concerto Wang Zhaojun. He died of illness in Shanghai on 18 July 2026, aged 91.
Life and times
Dates 1935–2026