Musheng Chen
b. 1971
Chinese
Biography
Born in 1971, Musheng Chen studied at the conservatories of Shanghai and Geneva. After following Klaus Huber’s masterclasses in Lugano he was composer in residence at the Cité International des Arts, Paris 2004-2005. Since 2006 he has been teaching at the Shanghai Conservatory. Chen’s music is profoundly influenced by Chinese traditional culture and Buddhist philosophy. He has received many commissions in Europe and New Zealand and his works have been performed in major cities and festivals throughout the world, notably his suite Ch’an in Bern in 2002 and in 2007 A Dream in the Peony Garden, an orchestral piece inspired by an ancient Chinese Kun opera. He has also written the series of Yun, Les Franges du Rêve, a piano concerto Yunnan Capriccio (2006, premiered in Tours in 2008 with the soloist Georges Pludermacher) and Splendid Overture (2008), written for the 10th Anniversary Gala Concert of the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Musheng Chen has received many international prizes and awards, including the first Grand Prix of the Dutilleux Competition (France, 2004), the Young Chinese Composer Award (2005), the composition award of the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium, 2006), First Prize of ICONS Competition (Turin, 2007), composition prize of the Ciutat de Tarragona (Spain, 2008).