Early years Tyzen Hsiao was born in Hōzan Town (modern-day
Fongshan District) in Taiwan's southern port city of Takao (
Kaohsiung) on 1 January 1938. His father, a dentist, served as an elder in the
Presbyterian church. His mother, a church pianist, began teaching him
piano at an early age. As a teen at the he studied with Kao Ya-mei, a singer, and , a pianist trained in Japan. From 1959 to 1963 Hsiao majored in music at the
National Taiwan Normal University (then named the Taiwan Provincial Normal Institute), taking a leave of absence midway through his studies to serve as music instructor and administrator for Pai-Sha Junior High School in
Penghu. His teachers included two pianists, and Lee Fu-mei (), and Paris-trained composer
Hsu Tsang-Houei. Upon graduation Hsiao served as __ and Kaohsiung before moving to
Japan in 1965 for two years of study at
Musashino Academia Musicae. His teachers in Japan included Fujimoto Hideo (; composition) and Nakane Nobue (; piano). Hsiao married Gao Jen-ci upon his return to Taiwan in 1967. Schools where he served on the faculty during this period include the Wenzao Women's Institute of Foreign Language (
Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages), Kaohsiung Women's Normal College (
National Kaohsiung Normal University), the Tainan Junior College of Home Economics (
Tainan University of Technology) and the Tainan Theological College and Seminary. He was appointed professor at the National Taiwan Normal University in 1973. The first "Hsiao Tyzen Night" featuring performances of his music took place in 1975 at Zhongshan Hall in the Ximen District of Taipei. During this time Hsiao continued studies with Miss Isabel Taylor, a Canadian missionary, and
Robert Scholz, an Austrian pianist and composer. Compositions dating from this period include the opera
Jesus Christ (1971) on a libretto by his father and the
Fantasy Waltz for Two Pianos, opus 38 (1973).
Life in America In 1977 difficult personal circumstances arising from the failure of his wife's business obliged Hsiao, now the father of four children, to relocate to the United States. It was to be an eighteen-year stay. Initially Hsiao, depressed and homesick, composed nothing. His musical activity during his first year in America, spent in Atlanta, was limited entirely to the occasional playing of piano in a gift shop for his own entertainment. One day an elderly woman in the shop took time to listen. "Young man," she said. "You are so talented. Why are you here?" Her question re-awakened the composer's creative passion. The following year Hsiao moved to Los Angeles where he began fruitful collaborations with friends and colleagues in California's Taiwanese community. Compositions flowed from his pen. Art songs included
The Vagabond (1978) on his own Taiwanese text, "March of Democracy" (1980), and "What a Beautiful Taiwan" (1984). Chamber music included the ''Highlander's Suite'' for piano quintet. Hsiao's creative activity carried political consequences, though, when the
Kuomintang government, displeased with "March of Democracy," suppressed performance of Hsiao's music in Taiwan and forbade his re-entry. From 1985 to 1987 Hsiao earned a master's in composition at the
California State University, Los Angeles. His teachers included Byong Kon Kim (composition) and Milton Stern (piano). Creative activity increased in subsequent years. 1987 saw: composition of the Symphony Opus 49 "Formosa" and the art song "Never Disregard Taiwan" on a text by
Yang-Min Lin; the release of a recording, ''Psalms of the Taiwanese: Tyzen Hsiao's Compositions
by the North American Taiwanese Professors Association. In 1988 Hsiao composed the Violin Concerto in D, opus 50. Violinist Ingrid Chun (formerly Ingrid Kuo) was the first to promote this piece in concerts throughout the US with pianist Melody Kuo. 1988 was also the year Hsiao composed the anthem "Taiwan the Formosa" setting a text by Rev. Er-Yu Cheng. More compositions followed: the Cello Concerto in C, opus 52 (1990); The Prelude for Pipe Organ'' (1990); and the song "Mother's Hair" (1990). The Prelude for Pipe Organ won the
California Music Teachers Association Composition Competition in 1991. The
Taiwanese American Foundation named Hsiao a Humanity Award Laureate in 1989. The
Wild Lily student movement of 1990 marked the beginning of rapid progress toward democracy in Taiwan. In 1992 Taiwan's government lifted its ban on Hsiao's return. That same year Hsiao completed the Piano Concerto in C minor, opus 53 and the songs "The Fairest Flower" and "Eternal Homeland." Lin Cho-Liang and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra (USA) gave the premier of his Violin Concerto, while Carol Ou and the Taipei County Cultural Center Orchestra gave the Cello Concerto its premier in Taiwan. In 1993 Hsiao suffered a heart attack while composing the
1947 Overture. He recovered and completed the work. In 1994 Jonathan Tang and the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (
Canada) gave the premier of the Piano Concerto.
Return to Taiwan Hsiao returned to Taiwan in 1995 as part of a wave of Taiwanese living abroad who moved back in response to democratic reforms. His new residence in
Tamsui faced the sea and offered work space and inspiration. Compositions after this return included:
Nocturne for Violin and Piano,
Fantasia for Flute and Piano, and
Toccata for solo piano (1995);
Formosa Trio for
piano trio and
Dragon Boat Festival for solo piano (1996);
Angel from Formosa and
Ode to Yu-Shan (Jade Mountain) for choir with piano or orchestra (1999); the cantata "The Prodigal Son" (2000). This period was a time of growing recognition of his achievements as a composer at home and abroad. The American premier of the Cello Concerto took place in 1995 with a performance by Felix Fan and the San Diego Symphony. The premier of
1947 Overture took place the same year with a performance by the
Oakland Youth Orchestra featuring soprano Huang Mei-Hsing and Taiwanese-American choir. 1997 saw the formation of the Tyzen Hsiao Music Association in Taiwan. The same year saw Russian premiers of
Formosa Symphony (Russian Federal Symphony),
The Angel of Formosa and Violin Concerto (
Moscow Symphony).
Ode to Yu-Shan (Jade Mountain) was performed as part of the 2000
Presidential Inauguration in Taipei. The Russian premier of the Cello Concerto and
1947 Overture took place in 2000 in a program that included the Violin Concerto. 2001 marked the premier of ''
Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs'' (poetry by
Min-Yung Lee) in Taipei. The American premiere took place soon after in
Lincoln Center, New York.
Retirement In 2002 Hsiao suffered a stroke while composing the
Love River Symphony. He moved back to Los Angeles to better enable his recovery and suspended most of his composition activities. The
Love River Symphony remains unfinished. Hsiao's music continues to be performed and recognized. The Japanese premiere of "Ilha Formosa!" took place in 2004. In 2007
Formosa Dreaming, a concert of works for orchestra and voices by Hsiao and
Fan-Long Ko, toured the United States after a sendoff concert in Taipei's Zhongshan Hall, the historic venue that the served as the site of the first "Tyzen Hsiao Night" in 1975. The concert features the
NTNU Symphony orchestra, the Formosa Festival Choir, and four vocal soloists from Taiwan conducted by
Apo Hsu. Hsiao was awarded Taiwan's National Art Prize (2004), the Wu Sam-lien Musical Contribution Award (2005), the
Kaohsiung City Prize for the Arts (2006) and the National Cultural Award (2009).
Death Hsiao died of
lung cancer in Los Angeles, California on 24 February 2015 at the age of 77. ==Recordings==