Chen Gang (; born 10 March 1935) is a Chinese composer best known for his work ''

Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto ''The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto'' (梁山伯与祝英台小提琴协奏曲; often abbreviated ) is one of the most famous Chinese works of orchestral music. It is an adaptation of an ancient legend, the ''Butterfly Lovers,'' and is written f ...

''. He is the son of songwriter Chen Gexin. Chen Gang started to learn piano and composition from his father and music teachers from a young age. From 1955 to 1959, Chen Gang was a student at the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SHCMusic) is a municipal public college in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the City of Shanghai and is part of the Double First-Class Construction. The college was founded on November 27, 1927. The Sh ...

, studying composition. In 1959, Chen Gang, together with another student, He Zhanhao, composed the violin concerto ''

Butterfly Lovers The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend centered around the tragic romance between Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the Chinese title of the story. The title is often abbreviated as Liang Zhu (). The story was selected a ...

''. The violin concerto won five Golden Record prizes as well as a Platinum Record prize. The Concerto has also achieved enormous international success. Chen is a professor at the

. In his composition career, he composed and recomposed many classics in China, including ''Butterfly Lovers'', ''Miaolin's Morning'', and ''The Golden Steel Smelting Furnace''. He also composed a virtuoso violin solo piece: ''Sunshine in Tashkurgan'', which is frequently performed in China.

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Naxos description of Chen GangChen Gang and Butterfly Lovers
1935 births Living people Hui people Musicians from Shanghai Shanghai Conservatory of Music alumni Chinese classical composers Members of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference {{China-composer-stub