Lang Yuxiu

Lang Yuxiu (November 4, 1918 - July 7, 2012), female, was born in Shanghai and her ancestral home is Hangzhou, China. Chinese soprano singer, music educator, expert with special government allowance from the State Council. In 2001, she won the highest honor of the first Chinese Music "Golden Bell Award" - the Lifetime Medal of Honor. She was hailed as one of the "Four Sopranos in China" by the vocal music industry. Her father is the world-famous photography master Lang Jingshan. Lang Yuxiu studied piano since childhood. In the summer of 1933, Lang Yuxiu participated in the summer training class organized by Shanghai National Music College. After the summer vacation, Lang Yuxiu successfully entered the Shanghai National Music College due to her beautiful voice and wide range. She also engaged in film recording and singing activities. After that, Lang Yuxiu successively recorded 20 or 30 albums at EMI Records, such as "Singing Over a Glass of Wine", "Nostalgia", "Spring Scenery in the Garden", "Morning Joy" and "Falling Flowers", which were popular all over the country and Southeast Asia. In August 1937, Lang Yuxiu boarded the Italian ship Count Verdi and headed for Europe, majoring in vocal music at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, Belgium. In 1941, Lang Yuxiu returned to China after graduating with honors and held solo concerts in Shanghai, Tianjin and Peking. Unable to endure the humiliating life of "subjugated slaves" in Peiping, Lang Yuxiu and her husband Xiao Ji quietly left the occupied Peiping. After many twists and turns, they arrived in Xi'an and settled in Chengdu in 1945. In 1944,she began to serve as a vocal music professor at the Sichuan National Art College. In 1946, she went to the Normal College and Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, for further studies in vocal music. Returned to China in 1948. She has served as a professor in the Music Department of West China University in Chengdu and Southwest Music College. On July 7, 2012, Lang Yuxiu, a leading figure in the Chinese music industry, died of illness in Chengdu, Sichuan at the age of 94.