B0001 嚴良堃（1923年12月28日 ～ 2017年6月18日）
嚴良堃，指揮家，中國交響樂團合唱團（前為中央樂團合唱團）創辦人之一，曾任中國音樂家協會副主席、顧問，他以細膩嚴謹，樂風含蓄抒情，動作瀟灑洗煉，成為中國傑出的合唱指揮藝術家，代表作為《黃河大合唱》。1923年12月28日出生於湖北省武昌縣（今武漢市江夏區）。抗戰全面爆發後，在武漢向冼星海學習音樂及指揮。1938年，參加抗敵演劇九隊，後調入「孩子劇團」。1940年，首次指揮「孩子劇團」公演《黃河大合唱》。1942年，考入國立音樂院理論作曲系，師從江定仙教授，並隨吳伯超先生學習指揮。1947年，畢業後到香港中華音樂院從事理論作曲、指揮教學工作。1949年，在中央音樂學院任教並擔任該校青年工作團合唱指揮。1952年，任中央歌舞團合唱指揮。1954年，赴蘇聯深造，為柴科夫斯基音樂學院指揮系研究生，主修交響樂及合唱指揮，師從阿諾索夫及索柯洛夫。1958回國，任中央合唱團指揮。1959年，為國慶獻禮指揮演出《貝多芬第九交響樂》。1964年，任音樂舞蹈史詩《東方紅》千人合唱首席指揮。1979年，率中央合唱團赴菲律賓參加第一屆國際合唱節。1983年，匈牙利柯達伊紀念委員授予嚴良堃證書和紀念章，表彰他在介紹柯達伊的作品和教學法中所作的貢獻。1986年，成立「合唱指揮學會」，被選為會長。2017年6月18日，因病在北京逝世，享年94歲。
YAN Liang-kun (December 28, 1923 ～ June 18, 2017) was a conductor and one of the founders of the China National Symphony Orchestra Chorus (formerly known as the Central Orchestra Chorus). He served as Vice Chairman and Advisor of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and was renowned as an outstanding choral conductor in China, known for his meticulousness, subtle and lyrical style, and graceful and refined conducting gestures. One of his notable works is the “Yellow River Cantata”. He was born on December 28, 1923, in Wuchang County, Hubei Province (now Jiangxia District, Wuhan City).
After the outbreak of the full-scale war, YAN Liang-kun studied music and conducting from XIAN Xing-hai in Wuhan. In 1938, he joined the Anti-Japanese Drama Ninth Troupe and later transferred to the “Children’s Theater Troupe”. In 1940, he conducted his first performance of the “Yellow River Cantata” with the “Children’s Theater Troupe”. In 1942, he was admitted to the National Conservatory of Music, majoring in music theory and composition under the guidance of Professor JIANG Ding-xian, and also studied conducting with Mr. WU Bo-chao. After graduating in 1947, he worked at the Chinese Academy of Music in Hong Kong, teaching music theory and composition, as well as conducting.
In 1949, YAN Liang-kun taught at the Central Conservatory of Music and served as a choral conductor for the Youth Work Group Chorus. In 1952, he became a choral conductor for the Central Song and Dance Troupe. In 1954, he went to the Soviet Union to further his studies. He became a graduate student in the conducting department of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, specializing in symphonic and choral conducting, under the tutelage of Arnosov and Sokolov. He returned to China in 1958 and became the conductor of the Central Chorus. In 1959, he conducted a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as a tribute for the National Day celebration.
In 1964, he served as the chief conductor for the music and dance epic “The East Is Red”, featuring a thousand-voice chorus. In 1979, he led the Central Chorus to participate in the first International Choral Festival in the Philippines. In 1983, he was awarded a certificate and commemorative medal by the Kodály Memorial Committee of Hungary, in recognition of his contributions to the introduction of Kodály’s works and teaching methods. In 1986, he founded the “Choral Conductors Association” and was elected as its president.
YAN Liang-kun passed away on June 18, 2017, in Beijing at the age of 94, after battling an illness.