Yin Chengzong (1941-Present)

He is a pianist, composer and arranger born on Gulangyu “Piano Island”, Xiamen, Fujian, China who began studying the piano when he was 7 years old. Two years later in 1950, when he was nine, he gave his first recital and another three years later, when he was 12, he became a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music followed by Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music.

In 1959 he went to Vienna, Austria, where he performed at the World Youth Peace and Friendship Festival and became an award winner. The following year he started studying at the Leningrad Conservatory and in 1962 he participated in the International Tchaikovsky Competition and became a second prize winner.

He returned to China and became a soloist with the Central Philharmonic Orchestra in 1965, remaining with the orchestra for 18 years. In 1967, when the piano and Western music were prohibited from being played, he carried his piano by hand to Tiananmen Square and performed revolutionary songs, opera and Chinese music for three days straight.

In 1969 it was suggested by Jiang Qing, also known as Madame Mao, that he changed his name to Chengzhong from Chengzong as the meaning of “Chengzhong” was more suitable as it meant “sincere and loyal” rather than the original spelling of his name which meant “carrying on the ancestral legacy”. That same year he and other Chinese composers collaborated and arranged the Yellow River Cantata by Xian Xinghai into what would become the well known Yellow River Piano Concerto, which incorporates Chinese and Western music and instruments. Yin incorporated the melody from the revolutionary song “The East Is Red” in the final movement. He also performed the premiere with the Beijing Central Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970.

In 1973 he became a member of the Communist Party of China but during that time he found a way to create a piano accompaniment to one of the only permitted Eight model plays The Legend of the Red Lantern.

The Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 and after his alleged close ties with the Gang of Four political faction in China were causing problems for him with the new Chinese Communist Party he emigrated to the United States in 1983. After arriving there he changed his name back to the original spelling and made his 1983 debut at Carnegie Hall, performing there at least another seven times during his career. He went on to perform at Lincoln Center and other venues in America and Canada.

He has performed as a soloist on Chinese and American TV broadcasts, in many recitals and at venues all over the world with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado among others. From the 2010s it is thought he has performed his Yellow River Piano Concerto over 1000 times, with other musicians also performing and recording the piece.

Recordings he has performed on include over 20 of his own albums and his recording of the Yellow River Piano Concerto received a platinum award.

In the field of musical education he was an artist-in-residence and professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has also taught piano from his studios in New York and China and held master classes.

China Philharmonic Orchestra recordings
Yellow River Piano Concerto (Xian Xinghai/arranged by Yin Chengzong and others)
DG 477 6229 (CD: Dragon Songs)
China Philharmonic Orchestra
Piano – Lang Lang
Conductor – Long Yu
Flute (Chinese) – Chen Shasha
Lute – Wu Yuxia

He performs here…

Sources:

Yin Chengzong (1941-Present)

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