Ma Sicong
Encyclopedia
Ma Sicong was a Chinese violin
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
, and fled to the United States
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
(海豐), in the Guangdong
province of China
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
and the yueqin
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
, Guangzhou
, and Nanjing
. In Shanghai
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
, Hamburg
, and Berlin
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer
Ma Sicong was a Chinese violin
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
, and fled to the United States
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
(海豐), in the Guangdong
province of China
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
and the yueqin
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
, Guangzhou
, and Nanjing
. In Shanghai
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
, Hamburg
, and Berlin
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer
Ma Sicong was a Chinese violin
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
, and fled to the United States
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
(海豐), in the Guangdong
province of China
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
and the yueqin
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
, Guangzhou
, and Nanjing
. In Shanghai
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
, Hamburg
, and Berlin
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer (馬如龍) was born. In November, he returned to Shanghai and met with delegates from Zhou Enlai
(周恩來), Qiao Guanhua (喬冠華) and (龚澎). In November, Ma returned to Gaungzhou and became the dean of Music at the Guangdong College of Fine Arts, and in May 1947, under the encouragement of Li Ling, Ma became the Music Conservatory of Hong Kong. While there, Ma gave recitals, and took on the editorship of the Music Weekly of newspaper Sing Tao Daily (星島日報). He collaborated with poet Jin Fan (金帆), and composed the grand chorous Motherland (祖國大合唱).
Ma's family moved to Hong Kong in early 1948 to escape prosecution, as a result of his protest against authoritarian rule by the Kuomintang
government. When John Leighton Stuart
, the US Ambassador
to China, offered Ma and his family an opportunity to live in the US and US citizen, Ma rejected the offer. In Hong Kong, ma also composed the grand chorus Spring (春天大合唱).
. In November 1949, Ma was requested by Zhou Enlai as part of his entourage in the official visit to the Soviet Union
. And on December 18, 1949, Ma was appointed first president of the Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing
, which opened on November 17, 1949. .In addition, Ma also held the vice-chairmanship of the Association of Chinese Musicians (中華全國音樂工作者協會).
Ma and his family moved once again to Tianjin
(天津), and there Ma composed Tribute of October (十月禮讚), We enter the battlefield with bravery (我們勇敢地奔向戰場) and grand chorus Yalu River (鴨綠江大合唱). In May and June 1951, Ma represented China to attended The Prague Spring International Music Festival (Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro) in Czechoslovakia
. After holding various administrative positions, Ma was appointed a delegate of the First National People's Congress
(第一届全国人民代表大会) in September 1954 and returned to Beijing. In 1957, Ma began his concert tour in China, the first large-scale concert series in China since the establishment of the People's Republic of China
, and received numerous critical acclaims. Ma also served on the jury for the First Tchaikovsky International Competition in March 1958.
broke out in early June, 1966 and Ma became the target of revolutionary Anti Academic Elitistism movement (反動學術權威). With his colleagues at the Central Conservatory, Ma was first assigned to re-education camp and later placed under house arrest. The Red Guards harassed Ma's family and, in August, confiscated all of the family's property. Ma's wife escaped with her children and they hid at her sister's home in Nanjing and shortly after in (丹灶). In November, Ma was diagnosed with hepatitis and was permitted to return home for recovery. He also fled Beijing and reunited with his family. On January 15, 1967, Ma and his family fled to Hong Kong by train, an event that was known colloquially as en passant (上卒), after the chess move. From Hong Kong, Ma traveled to the United States where he remained until his death in 1987.
His escape was investigated by the Chinese government. The investigation was led by Kang Sheng
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason. The charge was not retracted until 1985. His Nostalgia was renamed to The East is Red (東方紅), with connotations for both Mao Zedong
and Communism.
and Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger visited China in 1972, Zhou Enlai expressed his regret for the persecution and escape of Ma.
Ma visited Taiwan several times to find new musical inspiration. He collected elements of Chinese folk music, and incorporated in his compositions. In June 1985, when Ma and his wife were in their seventies, they toured around Europe with jubilation after hearing that Ma's name was reconciled by the central authorities in China.
Though Ma lived in low profile in the US, many Chinese biographers began to piece together his experience during the Cultural Revolution and his subsequent self-imposed exile.
The Ma Sicong museum of musical arts (馬思聰音樂藝術館) was opened in 2002. It is located in the Guangzhou Museum of Art in Guangzhou, China.
In December 2007, the Chinese government held ceremonies for welcoming Ma's ashes to his home town of Haifeng. Meanwhile, his music and letters were issued, including a 13-CD collection of his musical works. From then on, China began to rediscover the value of Ma's music and many other accomplishments.
Symphonic works
Choral works:
Violin pieces:
Chamber Music
Opera & Ballet:
Piano Works
Songs
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite , Op. 9, is a suite for violin and piano by Ma Sicong . The Suite was composed in 1937 after Ma's return from a trip to Suiyuan province, and published under the title Suiyuan Suite ; it was renamed after Suiyuan was incorporated into Inner Mongolia in 1954...
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and fled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
Early life
Ma was born in 1912 in HaifengHaifeng
Haifeng County is a county of Shanwei prefecture, southeastern Guangdong province, Southern china.The people there speak a Teochew dialect related to Hoklo and Hakka....
(海豐), in the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city...
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
Study in France
Ma Sicong and his brother arrived in Paris in the winter of 1923. Their first place of residence was in FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
Berck
Berck, sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France and lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve...
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai was one of the earliest generation of Chinese composers influenced by western classical music and has influenced generations of Chinese musicians...
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
Concert career and return to France
Ma returned to China in 1929 due to financial difficulties. He gave concerts in Chinese cities including Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, and Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
. In Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
Lu Xun
Lu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren , one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
Youth and musical career in China
In early 1932, the 19-year-old Ma completed his studies and returned to China. With his colleague Chen Hong (陳洪) he established a private conservatory in Guangzhou. There he met pianist (王慕理), who was two years his senior. They were married later that year. The following year, Ma passed the administration of the conservatory to Chen, and went to Shanghai. He sought a position at the National Conservatory of Shanghai, but was rejected. Then, through introduction, he became a lecturer at the Central University of Nanjing. The Ma family rented a property from fellow artist Xu BeihongXu Beihong
Xu Beihong was born in Yixing, China. He was primarily known for his shuimohua of horses and birds and one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a new modern China at the beginning of the 20th century...
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
Sino-Japanese War, Pacific War, and Chinese Civil war
Ma resigned his position in Nanjing in 1937, to accept a professorship at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong. However, on July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang is a notable Chinese author whose works were prominent during the Second Sino-Japanese War and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements...
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
Liuzhou
-History:thumb|Liuchow in 1945.Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong....
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of Southwest China. It is located in the centre of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. The city has an elevation of about 1,100 meters...
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer
Ma Sicong was a Chinese violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite , Op. 9, is a suite for violin and piano by Ma Sicong . The Suite was composed in 1937 after Ma's return from a trip to Suiyuan province, and published under the title Suiyuan Suite ; it was renamed after Suiyuan was incorporated into Inner Mongolia in 1954...
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and fled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
Early life
Ma was born in 1912 in HaifengHaifeng
Haifeng County is a county of Shanwei prefecture, southeastern Guangdong province, Southern china.The people there speak a Teochew dialect related to Hoklo and Hakka....
(海豐), in the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city...
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
Study in France
Ma Sicong and his brother arrived in Paris in the winter of 1923. Their first place of residence was in FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
Berck
Berck, sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France and lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve...
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai was one of the earliest generation of Chinese composers influenced by western classical music and has influenced generations of Chinese musicians...
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
Concert career and return to France
Ma returned to China in 1929 due to financial difficulties. He gave concerts in Chinese cities including Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, and Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
. In Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
Lu Xun
Lu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren , one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
Youth and musical career in China
In early 1932, the 19-year-old Ma completed his studies and returned to China. With his colleague Chen Hong (陳洪) he established a private conservatory in Guangzhou. There he met pianist (王慕理), who was two years his senior. They were married later that year. The following year, Ma passed the administration of the conservatory to Chen, and went to Shanghai. He sought a position at the National Conservatory of Shanghai, but was rejected. Then, through introduction, he became a lecturer at the Central University of Nanjing. The Ma family rented a property from fellow artist Xu BeihongXu Beihong
Xu Beihong was born in Yixing, China. He was primarily known for his shuimohua of horses and birds and one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a new modern China at the beginning of the 20th century...
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
Sino-Japanese War, Pacific War, and Chinese Civil war
Ma resigned his position in Nanjing in 1937, to accept a professorship at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong. However, on July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang is a notable Chinese author whose works were prominent during the Second Sino-Japanese War and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements...
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
Liuzhou
-History:thumb|Liuchow in 1945.Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong....
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of Southwest China. It is located in the centre of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. The city has an elevation of about 1,100 meters...
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer
Ma Sicong was a Chinese violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and composer. He was referred to in China as "The King of violinists." His Nostalgia (思鄉曲) for violin, composed in 1937 as part of the Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite
Inner Mongolia Suite , Op. 9, is a suite for violin and piano by Ma Sicong . The Suite was composed in 1937 after Ma's return from a trip to Suiyuan province, and published under the title Suiyuan Suite ; it was renamed after Suiyuan was incorporated into Inner Mongolia in 1954...
(內蒙組曲), was considered one of the most favorite pieces of 20th century China.
During his youth, Ma went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study music, and was then admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, majoring in violin. In early 1932, Ma returned to China, and got married in the same year. In the following period he composed many renowned pieces such as Lullaby, Inner Mongolia suite, Tibet tone poem (西藏音詩), and Madrigal (牧歌). Ma was appointed president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
by the Central government Politburo of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in December 1949.
When the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
broke out in June 1966, Ma became a target of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
and so-called revolutionaries. In the night of January 15, 1967, Ma and his family managed to escape to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and fled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with escorts provided by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
In May, 1967, a special file was opened to investigate the circumstances of Ma's escape, under the leadership of Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason, and the charge was not retracted until 1985.
Ma died during a heart surgery in Philadelphia on May 20, 1987. He was 75.
Early life
Ma was born in 1912 in HaifengHaifeng
Haifeng County is a county of Shanwei prefecture, southeastern Guangdong province, Southern china.The people there speak a Teochew dialect related to Hoklo and Hakka....
(海豐), in the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. His father, (馬育航), was a colleague and confidant of revolutionary figure Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
(陳炯明). After the Wuchang Uprising
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city...
, Ma's father became the finance minister for the Guangzhou and the province of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. Ma's mother , also from Haifeng, and was a scholar (a very rare occurrence in China at the turn of the century). Ma Sicong was the fifth of ten children. Most of Ma's siblings became musicians in their own right, e.g. Ma Sihong (馬思宏), Ma Sisun (馬思荪), Ma Siju (馬思琚) and Ma Siyun (馬思芸). Some of their children also became well known musicians.
According to Ma Sicong's 1937 autobiography, he did not come from a particularly musical family. His interest in music began at age five, when he sang along with his grandfather's gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
recording. He started playing the piano when he was seven, and two years later the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
when he went to a boarding school in Guangdong. In the summer of 1923, Ma Sicong's brother returned to France from his studies, and brought Ma Sicong a violin. The 11-year-old immediately fell in love with the instrument, and decided to follow his brother to France to study the violin.
Study in France
Ma Sicong and his brother arrived in Paris in the winter of 1923. Their first place of residence was in FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, and later in a family house. In the first six months, Ma Sicong had four violin teachers, the last of whom was a graduate of Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
.
Ma proved to be a fast learner, and in the 1925, he was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Nancy, an affiliate of the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. There he played the violin with his landlady's pianist daughter. In summer of 1926, Ma won second prize by playing a concerto by Nicolò Paganini, but he was dissatisfied with his performance and progress. So he returned to Paris in August of the same year.
Through a friend, Ma became a student of violinist Paul Oberdoerffer at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. At the same time, he also studied the piano with Oberdoerffer's wife. However, in March 1927, he developed a neck condition, and had to stop playing. He spent his time in the coastal city of Berck
Berck
Berck, sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France and lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve...
, concentrating on the piano, and became familiar with many composers, with Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
being his most favorite. In the fall of 1928, Ma returned to France, and was officially admitted to the Conservatoire. There he met future Chinese composer Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai
Xian Xinghai was one of the earliest generation of Chinese composers influenced by western classical music and has influenced generations of Chinese musicians...
(冼星海), and Ma recommended Xian to also study under Oberdoerffer.
Concert career and return to France
Ma returned to China in 1929 due to financial difficulties. He gave concerts in Chinese cities including Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, and Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
. In Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, critics referred him as the "Wunderkind of the Chinese Musical World", and his music was "mesmerizing, and uplighting", and "brought the audience to new levels of excitement and tranquility". He met Chinese novelist Lu Xun
Lu Xun
Lu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren , one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
(魯迅), who inspired him to compose the Seven classic poems. In January, 1930, Ma returned to Guangzhou, and became first violin of the orchestra of the Research Institute for Dramatic Arts in Guangdong (廣東戲劇研究所).
With financial support from the Guangdong regional government, Ma returned to France in 1931 to study composition. Through Oberdoerffer, Ma became a student of Janko Binenbaum, a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
composer of Jewish descent, who served as musical director in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Though he led a private life, Binenbaum's compositions had a unique style. "It was not melancholy, but rather some kind of Greek tragedy. There was passion like fire, the passion of music that could not be reined," Ma wrote describing Binenbaum's music. Despite the forty-year age difference between the two, Binenbaum had great influence on Ma's composition, and they became close friends. When the second world war broke out, Ma lost contact with Binenbaum and, according to Ma, "Then I did not know to which country he fled. It was, indeed, one of the saddest moment for me."
Youth and musical career in China
In early 1932, the 19-year-old Ma completed his studies and returned to China. With his colleague Chen Hong (陳洪) he established a private conservatory in Guangzhou. There he met pianist (王慕理), who was two years his senior. They were married later that year. The following year, Ma passed the administration of the conservatory to Chen, and went to Shanghai. He sought a position at the National Conservatory of Shanghai, but was rejected. Then, through introduction, he became a lecturer at the Central University of Nanjing. The Ma family rented a property from fellow artist Xu BeihongXu Beihong
Xu Beihong was born in Yixing, China. He was primarily known for his shuimohua of horses and birds and one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a new modern China at the beginning of the 20th century...
(徐悲鴻).
In Nanjing, Ma resumed his concert career, and composed his Piano Trio in B major. In February 1934, Ma collaborated with Jewish pianist Harry Ore, who was a classmate of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, and composed the Violin sonata No. 1 in G major. Ma and Ore continued concertizing in 1935 in Hong Kong. In February, Ma composed the song, You are my life (你是我的生命線), which became his first publicly performed work. In August, Ma and his wife returned to Hong Kong and performed recitals there, and met Xian Xinghai for the second and last time. He also completed the Berceuse (搖籃曲) for violin.
Later that year, he wrote his autobiography, entitled Chasing my childhood (童年追想曲), serialized and published in Shanghai. In early 1936, Ma organized a concert for his 13-year-old brother Ma Sihong (马思宏). His future wife (董光光) was at the piano. Ma and his wife traveled north to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and held concerts there. They became acquainted with novelist (沉櫻) and his wife. Ma also composed his Sonata No. 2 in b minor later that year.
Sino-Japanese War, Pacific War, and Chinese Civil war
Ma resigned his position in Nanjing in 1937, to accept a professorship at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong. However, on July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
broke out. Ma became the director of the patriotic Anti-Japanese Choir, and made many media appearances and recordings. He wrote a large amount of patriotic songs during this period, such as The Call for Freedom (自由的號聲), Forward (前進), Guerilla squadron hymn (游擊隊歌), Defend south China (保衛華南) Wang Fah Gong (黃花崗), and From death comes eternal life (不是死是永生). He composed the Inner Mongolia Suite (內蒙組曲). Its second movement, Nostalgia (思鄉曲), would later become synonymous with Ma.
In December 1938, he was commissioned by the Dong River Traveling Chorus to compose their an anthem for the troupe. On January 29, 1939, Ma's father (馬育航) was assassinated in Shanghai, and Ma's first daughter (馬碧雪) was born in Hong Kong only two days later. In the summer of the same year, Ma and his family moved to Chengjiang (徵江) to accept a teaching position there. In Chengjiang, Ma completed the Sonata No. 1 for Piano. Ma went to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
(重慶), where he met left-wing musicologist Li Ling (李凌). In June 1940, Ma became the conductor of the Sino Philharmonic, and met poet (徐遲). He also wrote the incidental music to the film An Exploration of Tibet (西藏巡禮).
In Summer of 1941, Ma left Chongqing for Hong Kong, but returned to his home Heifeng when the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
broke out on December 8, where he arrived in February 1942. The music from the Inner Mongolia Suite was used in the 1942 film Chronicles of the Fringes (of China) (塞上風雲), and the music was hailed national heritage by Tsui. Ma's family relocated to Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
(桂林) in April, where he held conrcerts, and met novelist Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang is a notable Chinese author whose works were prominent during the Second Sino-Japanese War and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements...
(端木蕻良). He returned to Guangdong to resume teaching at the Sun Yat-sen University, and published articles in academic musical journals. In spring of 1943, Ma's second daughter, (馬瑞雪), was born. In 1944, with the Japanese army approaching, Ma and his family fled to the neighboring Wuzhou (梧州) in Guangxi (廣西), then on September 23 to Liuzhou
Liuzhou
-History:thumb|Liuchow in 1945.Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong....
(柳州), and Guilin on October 11, and a week later to Guiyang
Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of Southwest China. It is located in the centre of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. The city has an elevation of about 1,100 meters...
(貴陽) as each of the region fell to Japanese hands. By the end of 1944, the Ma family returned to Chongqing. In this period, Ma composed the Madrigal (牧歌), and Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲). In 1945, Ma gave concerts in Chongqing and surrounding areas, and published a number of songs: The Light of Democracy (和平之光), Sabre Dance (劍舞) and (述異).
In 1946, after the Japanese surrendered, Ma was still the director of the Center of Fine Arts in Guiyang. In collaboration with writer (馬如龍) was born. In November, he returned to Shanghai and met with delegates from Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
(周恩來), Qiao Guanhua (喬冠華) and (龚澎). In November, Ma returned to Gaungzhou and became the dean of Music at the Guangdong College of Fine Arts, and in May 1947, under the encouragement of Li Ling, Ma became the Music Conservatory of Hong Kong. While there, Ma gave recitals, and took on the editorship of the Music Weekly of newspaper Sing Tao Daily (星島日報). He collaborated with poet Jin Fan (金帆), and composed the grand chorous Motherland (祖國大合唱).
Ma's family moved to Hong Kong in early 1948 to escape prosecution, as a result of his protest against authoritarian rule by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
government. When John Leighton Stuart
John Leighton Stuart
John Leighton Stuart was the first President of Yenching University and later United States ambassador to China; he was the last person to hold that position before the transfer of the embassy to Taipei.- Early life :...
, the US Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to China, offered Ma and his family an opportunity to live in the US and US citizen, Ma rejected the offer. In Hong Kong, ma also composed the grand chorus Spring (春天大合唱).
The Founding of the People's Republic of China
On March 24, 1949, took on role in a number of central government committees dedicated to performing arts. His family resided in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. In November 1949, Ma was requested by Zhou Enlai as part of his entourage in the official visit to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. And on December 18, 1949, Ma was appointed first president of the Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, which opened on November 17, 1949. .In addition, Ma also held the vice-chairmanship of the Association of Chinese Musicians (中華全國音樂工作者協會).
Ma and his family moved once again to Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
(天津), and there Ma composed Tribute of October (十月禮讚), We enter the battlefield with bravery (我們勇敢地奔向戰場) and grand chorus Yalu River (鴨綠江大合唱). In May and June 1951, Ma represented China to attended The Prague Spring International Music Festival (Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro) in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. After holding various administrative positions, Ma was appointed a delegate of the First National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
(第一届全国人民代表大会) in September 1954 and returned to Beijing. In 1957, Ma began his concert tour in China, the first large-scale concert series in China since the establishment of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, and received numerous critical acclaims. Ma also served on the jury for the First Tchaikovsky International Competition in March 1958.
The Cultural Revolution
In February 1966, Ma composed The Elegy for Jiao Yulu (焦裕祿悼歌), which would become his last composition in China. The Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
broke out in early June, 1966 and Ma became the target of revolutionary Anti Academic Elitistism movement (反動學術權威). With his colleagues at the Central Conservatory, Ma was first assigned to re-education camp and later placed under house arrest. The Red Guards harassed Ma's family and, in August, confiscated all of the family's property. Ma's wife escaped with her children and they hid at her sister's home in Nanjing and shortly after in (丹灶). In November, Ma was diagnosed with hepatitis and was permitted to return home for recovery. He also fled Beijing and reunited with his family. On January 15, 1967, Ma and his family fled to Hong Kong by train, an event that was known colloquially as en passant (上卒), after the chess move. From Hong Kong, Ma traveled to the United States where he remained until his death in 1987.
His escape was investigated by the Chinese government. The investigation was led by Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
(康生), head of the Central Investigation Agency, and Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...
(謝富治), the Minister of Public Security. Many of Ma's friends and family members were subsequently implicated. In 1968, a standing warrant was issued for Ma's arrest for treason. The charge was not retracted until 1985. His Nostalgia was renamed to The East is Red (東方紅), with connotations for both Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and Communism.
Exile in the United States
In the United States, he wrote music for the ballet Sunset Clouds (晚霞), and composed the opera Rebia (熱碧亞). Like many other nationalist composers, he integrated national folk elements with western music structure. He also continued his compositions of Chinese patriotic music in the US, and he seldom discussed his experience during the Cultural Revolution in public. When President Richard NixonRichard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Henry Kissinger visited China in 1972, Zhou Enlai expressed his regret for the persecution and escape of Ma.
Ma visited Taiwan several times to find new musical inspiration. He collected elements of Chinese folk music, and incorporated in his compositions. In June 1985, when Ma and his wife were in their seventies, they toured around Europe with jubilation after hearing that Ma's name was reconciled by the central authorities in China.
Death and posthumous recognition
He died during a heart operation in 1987 in Philadelphia. Ma authorized the high-risk procedure, and was hoping to visit China had it been successful.Though Ma lived in low profile in the US, many Chinese biographers began to piece together his experience during the Cultural Revolution and his subsequent self-imposed exile.
The Ma Sicong museum of musical arts (馬思聰音樂藝術館) was opened in 2002. It is located in the Guangzhou Museum of Art in Guangzhou, China.
In December 2007, the Chinese government held ceremonies for welcoming Ma's ashes to his home town of Haifeng. Meanwhile, his music and letters were issued, including a 13-CD collection of his musical works. From then on, China began to rediscover the value of Ma's music and many other accomplishments.
Selected compositions
Concertos:- Violin concerto, 1944
- Concerto for Two Violins
- Cello Concerto, 1958–1960
Symphonic works
- Symphony No.1, Op.12, 1941–1942
- Symphony No.2, 1958–1959
- Song of the Mountain Forest Suite (山林之歌), 1953–1954
- Jubilance Suite, 1949
Choral works:
- Democracy (民主大合唱), 1946
- Motherland (祖國大合唱), 1947
- Spring, 1948
- The Huaihe River, 1956
Violin pieces:
- Berceuse (搖籃曲), 1935
- Inner Mongolia SuiteInner Mongolia SuiteInner Mongolia Suite , Op. 9, is a suite for violin and piano by Ma Sicong . The Suite was composed in 1937 after Ma's return from a trip to Suiyuan province, and published under the title Suiyuan Suite ; it was renamed after Suiyuan was incorporated into Inner Mongolia in 1954...
(內蒙組曲) Op.9, 1937 - Tibetan Tone Poem (西藏音詩), 1941
- Madrigal (牧歌), 1944
- Idyll, 1944
- Harvest Dance (秋收舞曲) Op.28, 1944
- Air (抒情曲), Op.30 (1952)
- Lantern Festival Celebration (跳龍燈) Op. 29, 1952
- Mountain Song (山歌) Op.28, 1952
- Spring (春天舞曲), 1953
- Lament (慢訴) Op.29, 1952
- Rondo No. I, 1937
- Rondo No.II, 1950
- Rondo No.III, 1983
- Xinjiang Rhapsody (新疆狂想曲) for violin and piano (1954)
- High Mountain Suite (高山組曲), 1973.
- Ah-Mei Suite (阿美組曲), 1973
Chamber Music
- Violin Duo, 1982
- Piano Quintet, 1954
- String Quartet No.2 Op.10, 1938
- Piano Trio in B major, 1933
- Violin Sonata No.1, 1934
- Violin Sonata No.2, 1936
- Violin Sonata No.3, 1984
Opera & Ballet:
- Ballet, Sunset Clouds (晚霞)
- Opera, Rebia (熱碧亞), 1980
Piano Works
- Three Pieces for Piano, 1961
- Three Dances, 1952
- Three Pieces of Cantonese Music, 1952–1953
- Sonatina No.4, 1956
Songs
- After the Rain, 1943
- In memory of Xian XinghaiXian XinghaiXian Xinghai was one of the earliest generation of Chinese composers influenced by western classical music and has influenced generations of Chinese musicians...
, 1946 - Accusation, 1947
- Song of Chinese Young Pioneers, 1950
- Water in Spring, 1962