fou ts'ong obituary

After his defection, Mr. Fou maintained a written correspondence with his father in Shanghai — a special privilege that was said to have been approved by Zhou Enlai, the Chinese premier. There was an aura of old-world charm and courtesy about Fou, who would invite visitors to take tea in his gracious living room surrounded by books on eastern and western philosophy. Fou Ts’ong, a Chinese-born pianist known for his sensitive interpretations of Chopin, Debussy and Mozart, and whose letters from his father, a noted translator and writer, influenced a generation of Chinese readers, died on Monday at a hospital in London, where he had lived for many years. “About my leaving, I always felt full of regret and anguish,” he recalled in an interview. Having married Zamira Menuhin, daughter of the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, in 1960, Fou became a regular visitor to her father’s festival at Bath. Fou Ts’ong, pianist, born 10 March 1934, died 28 December 2020 Subscribe to International Piano magazine in print, digital or bundle format now to get more news, features and information. https://www.networthstatus.com/pianist/fou-tsong-net-worth-earnings Whether he can in the long run completely make up for an accident of birth--in which he was not exposed during his formative Fou Ts'ong, the first Chinese pianist to win global acclaim and success, has died aged 86 after contracting Covid-19. “Now that’s how I feel, always,” Mr. Fou said. “I simply admire the way he makes music.”. Fou Ts'ong was born in Shanghai on 10 March 1934 to a family of intellectuals; his father was the translator Fu Lei. In 1967 he covered for Jacqueline du Pré by giving a solo recital when, instead of their advertised joint recital, she played for Israeli troops involved in the Six-Day war. Reviewing a 1987 recital in New York, Bernard Holland of The New York Times wrote of Mr. Fou’s “sensitive ear for color” and “elusive gift of melody.”, “We should hear Mr. Fou more often,” Mr. Holland wrote. Mr. Fou remained devoted to music in his later years, playing piano for hours every day even as his fingers grew frail. Fou appeared at the First Night of the Proms in 1967 performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Colin Davis. He was reportedly in hospital in the British capital for the past two weeks after contracting the virus. But give them a Mozart minuet and they’re sunk. Since his departure for Poland almost a decade earlier they had written some 200 letters to their son, which were compiled in a powerful book published in 1981. It was only after returning to Shanghai several years later that he began to dedicate himself in earnest to the piano. “I am always a … Fou Ts’ong 傅聰 tributes. So in December 1958, Mr. Fou fled Communist Poland for London, where he requested political asylum. Obituary. “You see the same players, professional competitors, all over the world. Fou Ts’ong 傅聰 obituary, funeral arrangements, any GoFundMe page. “Fou Ts’ong’s legacy was to show people and musicians the importance of integrity, character and music beyond technique,” said Jindong Cai, a conductor and the director of the U.S.-China Music Institute at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Among her pupils is the world renowned Chinese pianist Fou Ts'ong. Mr. Fou became one of the first Chinese pianists to achieve global prominence when he took third place in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955. Fou Ts'ong Death - Fou Ts'ong Obituary | Cause Of Death : On the 29th of December 2020, Dead-Death learned about the unexpected death... Read more. Mr. Fou’s first marriage, to Zamira Menuhin, a daughter of the prominent violinist Yehudi Menuhin, ended in divorce, as did a brief marriage to Hijong Hyun. There were concerts in the eastern bloc, including a recital in Moscow with the violinist David Oistrakh, but Fou’s time in Communist Europe was running out. On Christmas Eve 1958 he flew from Warsaw to London saying that he “chose freedom” rather than returning to China, where “now intellectuals like everybody else are being asked to do manual work”. To prepare for the fifth Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1955, he practiced so diligently that he hurt his fingers and was nearly cut from the first round of competition. Fou Ts’ong was a force of nature, a mesmeric and irreplaceable artist. “It was not an easy situation. Having survived the classical music competition circuit in his twenties, Fou became a regular juror although he saw such events as a necessary evil. He defected to Britain in 1958, married Yehudi Menuhin's daughter and introduced Jacqueline du Pré to Daniel Barenboim. A slight figure who wore a beret and smoked a pipe, Fou did not visit China until 1979, after the Cultural Revolution had ended. Then, in 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, a decade of chaos that upended Chinese society. In addition to his wife, Ms. Toh, Mr. Fou is survived by a son from his first marriage, Lin Xiao; a son from his marriage to Ms. Toh, Lin Yun; and his brother, Mr. Fu. His mother, Zhu Meifu, was a secretary to her husband. He was 86. Fou Ts'ong had a brother named Fu Min. Complications from COVID-19 caused the death of the maestro on Monday, said Kong Jianing, one of Fou's former students. Fou Ts'ong, the first Chinese pianist to win global acclaim and success, has died aged 86 after contracting Covid-19. Fou Ts’ong was the first pianist from China to win internaional notice in my memory, and one of the best. Afterwards one critic commented that “his fleet fingerwork and beautifully soft-grained tone were a delight”. “Not that I have studied his method of playing or anything like that,” he told Gramophone magazine in 1979. Fou Ts’ong was born in Shanghai on March 10 1934, the son of Fu Lei, a translator on art and China’s foremost authority on French literature, and his wife Zhu Meifu, who Fou described as a “simple, traditional Chinese housewife”. It stemmed, he said, from an experience of recording Chopin Nocturnes in which the magic of his performance had been lost during the editing up of some untidiness. He was devoted to the Wigmore Hall, often joining the audience to encourage young artists. Fou Ts’ong plays piano in Shanghai, 2006. The following February he made his Royal Albert Hall debut with the London Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Gibson delivering a Mozart concerto before the interval and a Brahms one afterwards. There was no other choice.”, Many other Chinese honored his memory, including well-known pianists like Li Yundi and Lang Lang, who called Mr. Fou “a clear stream in the world of classical music and a beacon of light in our spirit.”. They have technique but no imagination.”. It was a love that he invoked in interviews, alongside nuggets of wisdom from his father. He moved to Poland to continue his studies and in 1955 took part in the fifth Chopin competition in Warsaw, where he was nicknamed “Very, Very” because of the frequency with which he used those words. “These competitions become like tennis tournaments,” he told The Independent. The Telegraph - Telegraph Obituaries He defected to Britain in 1958, married Yehudi Menuhin's daughter and introduced Jacqueline du Pré to Daniel Barenboim Fou Ts'ong, who has died from Covid-19 aged 86, was among the first Chinese-born pianists to achieve renown in the West, where he was known for his freshness of thought, spiritual … Fou Ts'ong acknowledges a Guangzhou audience in 2009. One of his last appearances was at the Wigmore Hall in February 2004, playing music by Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as Chopin’s “Funeral March” Sonata. Fou Ts'ong acknowledges a Guangzhou audience in 2009. However, this somewhat shy pianist was uncomfortable playing under television lights in a crowded hall on a hot night and never returned to the Proms. They humiliated and tortured him and his wife for days until the couple, like many other Chinese, were driven to suicide. “He wrote back: ‘You could never be lonely. As the country embarked on economic reforms in the early 2000s, he made regular visits to perform and teach. In Vancouver he was popular with concertgoers from the Chinese community, who flocked to his concerts in large numbers. Toh also lives in London. It also referred incorrectly … He was 86. His correspondence with his father, a leading intellectual in China, became a best-selling book after the Cultural Revolution. But the authorities’ good will did not last long. The youngster took to the piano, studying with Mario Paci, an Italian pianist and conductor who founded the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. This death has caused a lot of friends and family of Ts’ong so much hurt. Fou died on Monday in London, where he had been living since the 1950s. British concertgoers found something exotic about this pianist who defected to London in 1958, though there was little in his playing to suggest that he was anything other than a product of the European musical tradition. Militant Red Guards accused Mr. Fu, a translator of writers like Balzac and Voltaire, of having “capitalistic” artistic taste, among other crimes. He was one of the first pianists from China to win international renown. Two grand pianos loomed, one at either end of the room. Son of a notable translator and writer father, Fou was born in Shanghai in 1934 and went to study piano in Poland two decades later. Fou Ts’ong in 1960. The pianist Lang Lang called him “a clear stream in the world of classical music.”. The Chinese and British pianist Fou Ts’ong, who died yesterday of Covid-19, was an exemplary figure in many ways. Mr. Fou, then studying at the Warsaw Conservatory in Poland, was made to return to China to undergo “rectification” for several months. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Driven from China during Mao’s rule, he kept up a correspondence with his father that became a beloved book in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Fou died on Monday in London, where he … He first gained prominence at the 1955 Chopin competition in Poland. Fou Ts'ong Photo: VCG. Nevertheless, his affinity with Chinese art and culture remained undimmed, as it did after the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. Fou Ts'ong - an obituary. During the civil war (1945-49) the family lived in Kunming, during which time food was scarce and Fou never touched a piano. “I felt uneasy, as if I owed something to all my friends,” he said. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. As a child, Mr. Fou studied art, philosophy and music, frequently making use of his father’s phonograph and laarge record collection. Fou died on Monday in London, where he had been living since the 1950s. His father, in addition to being a translator, was an art critic and a curator. For some years the pair had a regular trio with the violinist Hugh Maguire, although after meeting Barenboim she sought them out less frequently. So many intellectuals in China had suffered, he said, but he had escaped. On Chinese social media, some ultranationalist commentators called him a traitor to the country for defecting decades ago, echoing accusations that Mr. Fou faced in the 1950s after settling in London. Although the novelty of a Chinese pianist soon wore off, Fou remained unchanged. The New York Times - Correction: January 1, 2021 This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: An earlier version of this obituary misstated the year that Fou Ts’ong and Patsy Toh were married; it was 1987, not 1975. The cause was the coronavirus, said Patsy Toh, a pianist, who had been married to Fou since 1975. In 1981, after China’s post-Mao government posthumously restored the reputations of Mr. Fou’s parents, a volume of letters written by his father, primarily to Mr. Fou, was published in China. He again came third while also receiving the Polish Radio prize for his interpretation of Chopin’s mazurkas and a scholarship to study with Zbigniew Drzewiecki, whose teaching involved only hearing his students once a month to avoid influencing their individuality. Robert Shepherd Death – Obituary | Robert Shepherd Dead. Fou Ts’ong was born on March 10, 1934, in Shanghai. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. Chinese-born British pianist Fou Ts'ong died from COVID-19 in London on Monday, Austrian media reported. Chinese social media was filled with posts and candle emojis on Tuesday as netizens mourned legendary Chinese-born pianist Fou Ts'ong, who died on Monday in … Fou Ts’ong, born March 10 1934, died December 28 2020. Besides influencing a generation of Chinese, Mr. Fu’s words resonated long after his death with the person for whom they were intended. There was never any attempt to recapture the public imagination by indulging in cheap publicity stunts and his calling remained a higher one, to serve – some might say venerate – the music. Not long after going back to Warsaw, he found himself in a quandary. They might be brilliant at tossing off notes in a big showy piece. Fou Ts’ong, Chinese pianist who bridged East and West, dies at 86 of covid-19 After defecting in 1958, he became one of the first Chinese pianists to rise to the front ranks of classical music. “My father had a saying that ‘First you must be a person, then an artist, and then a musician, and only then can you be a pianist,’” Mr. Fou once recalled in an interview. The cause was the coronavirus, said Patsy Toh, a pianist, who had been married to Mr. Fou since 1987. Mr. Fou in Chengdu, China, in 2007. In the past three decades his recitals in Britain were rare events, not helped by tendinitis in both wrists for which he received treatment from a Chinese acupuncturist. Under the strict supervision of their father, Mr. Fou and his brother, Fu Min, were educated in the classical Chinese tradition and grew up surrounded by both Western and Chinese cultural influences. His final appearance in Shanghai was for an 80th birthday concert in 2014 playing a Chopin programme. Fou Ts’ong, a Chinese pianist known for his sensitive interpretations of Chopin, Debussy and Mozart, and whose letters from his father, a noted translator and writer, influenced a generation of Chinese readers, died Monday at a hospital in London, where he had lived for many years. For many, Mr. Fu’s disquisitions on music, art and life offered a welcome contrast to the propaganda of Cultural Revolution, in which sons turned against fathers, students against teachers and neighbors against neighbors all in the name of politics. “If you imagine the environment we grew up with, it was very rigid,” said Xibai Xu, a political analyst who first read Mr. Fu’s letters in middle school in Beijing. His father had studied in France, concentrating on the works of Balzac, and on his return introduced his son to western classical music. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Fou Ts'ong Photo: VCG. He added, “So when you read ‘Fu Lei’s Family Letters,’ you realized how a decent human life could be — a life that is very delicate and artistic, with real human emotions and not just ideology.”. “What would I tell them? Fou Ts'ong was exposed to Western classical music when he was very young, whilst his father Fou Lei, a famous translator of French literature, was working in France. Fou was the leading Chinese pianist of his time and one of the highly respected interpreters of Chopin's music. To China’s nascent Communist-led government, Mr. Fou’s recognition in a well-known international competition was proof that the country could stand on its own artistically in the West. by Pininvest Analysis • Jan 5, 2021. Find out more, Fou Ts'ong playing at a press reception in London in 1959, Fou Ts'ong recording Mozart's 'Concerto in E Flat Major for Two Pianos and Orchestra' in 1964, Record sleeve of Fou Ts'ong's interpretations of Chopin's Mazurkas, Iain Pattinson, scriptwriter on I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, ‘the antidote to panel games’ – obituary, Rush Limbaugh, provocative broadcaster who dominated America’s conservative airwaves – obituary, The 13th Lord Belhaven and Stenton, politician, farmer and champion of Polish causes – obituary, Rupert Neve, inventor of a mixing desk that became the gold standard in recording studios – obituary, Walter Bernstein, screenwriter who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era – obituary, Eleanor Wadsworth, last surviving British female pilot from the Second World War – obituary. Chinese British pianist Fou Ts’ong has died of COVID in London (1934-2020). He recalled how Paci insisted on placing coins on his hand, an obsolete Italian practice to ensure that he kept his wrists still. Only in the studio was he autocratic, refusing to allow anyone to touch his recordings. upward with sinuous grace and suppleness, As Mr. Ts'Ong played it, the music sounded almost elephantine. This post will be updated with more information as they are made available and public. 147 Fou Ts’ong Death – Dead, Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death, Passed Away: On December 29, 2020, InsideEko Media learned about the death of Fou Ts’ong through social media publications made on Twitter. Erich Auerbach/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images. On WeChat, he had shared information on the pianist's medical condition that he was given by Fou's wife, the Shanghai-born pianist Patsy Toh. “It’s not that I was longing for the West.”, “I was choosing freedom,” he added. Mr. Fou, still in London, did not learn of his parents’ deaths until months later. He was a devotee of Alfred Cortot, the French pianist known for his long line and elegant phrasing. Chinese reporters flocked to interview Mr. Fou, while many others sought out his father, Fu Lei, a translator of French literature, for advice on child-rearing. After settling in Winnipeg in 1954 she was a frequent performer on CBC Radio and TV as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist for local and international artists. Fou's parents Fu Lei and Zhu Meifu were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and committed suicide in September 1966. Two years later was selected for a student competition in Bucharest, where he was placed third. He was 86. “Even now, I believe in this order — that it should be this way and that I am this way.”. Don’t you think you are living with the greatest souls of the history of mankind all the time?’”. “He is an artist who uses his considerable pianistic gifts in pursuit of musical goals and not for show.”. Almost overnight, he became a national hero. Yet back in China the Cultural Revolution was in full swing. Esther John-December 29, 2020 0. Having witnessed the increasingly tumultuous political climate back home, he knew that if he returned to China upon graduation — as the government expected him to do — he would be expected to denounce his father, an unimaginable situation. Many were tortured and banished to labor camps. His death was confirmed to the BBC by Jianing Kong, a professor at the Royal College of Music and student of Fou's. The family are yet to make public the obituary and funeral arrangements. Weng Guangjie/People Visual. Tributes To Fou Ts’ong The news about this death has been attracting numerous tributes and condolences via social media from friends and other worried individuals. In 1966 Fou’s parents, who were condemned as bourgeois, took their own lives rather than continue. After the deaths of his parents in 1966, Mr. Fou stayed abroad and became a renowned concert pianist on the international circuit, best known for his interpretations of Chopin but also winning acclaim in performing works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Debussy. We are unable to confirm if a GoFundMe was created by the family/friends of the deceased at the time of this publication. In homage to the great Fou Ts’ong 傅聪 (1934–2020), who became yet another casualty of Covid last week in London, I’ve been re-reading the account of his career in Chapter 3 of Richard Kraus, Pianos and politics in China (1989). On subsequent visits he performed and lectured, becoming known as the “Piano Poet” for his lyrical musical interpretations. Chinese netizens mourn veteran pianist Fou Ts'ong, who died on Monday in the UK from COVID-19, at the age of 86, media reported on Tuesday. That September he was heard at the Royal Festival Hall twice in one week, performing another Mozart concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his first concert and delivering a recital of music by Chopin and Schubert in the second. Mr. Fou moved soon to Poland, where he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory on a scholarship. “My anguish when I received the tragic news cannot be described,” he said. In 1987 he married the Chinese pianist Patsy Toh, who survives him with their son and a son from his first marriage. One of his later teachers was Mario Paci, the Italian conductor of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra. In 1979, after Mao’s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Fou was granted permission to return to China for the first time in more than two decades, reuniting with his brother to hold a memorial service for their parents. There was nothing to say,” Mr. Fou said of such critics in an interview. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/obituaries/fou-tsong-dead.html Mr. Fou made his first stage appearance in 1952, playing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Fou Ts’ong’s marriage to Zamira Menuhin was dissolved in 1970 as was his second, from 1973 to 1976, to Hijong Hyun, the daughter of a South Korean diplomat. Fou Ts'ong Chinese -born British pianist Fou Ts'ong was born in Shanghai on 10 March 1934, one of two sons born to Zhu Meifu, who was from a prominent Chinese family. Fou’s American debut was in 1960 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and he also appeared with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein. His concerts drew large and appreciative audiences, while the critics praised his lightness of touch, fastidious attention to detail and acute ear for tonal balance. He also won a special prize for his performance of Chopin’s mazurkas. View Original Notice → Fou Ts’ong, Chinese pianist who bridged East and West, dies at 86 of covid-19 After defecting in 1958, he became one of the first Chinese pianists to rise to the front ranks of classical music. Two years later, Mao Zedong initiated the Anti-Rightist Campaign, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese intellectuals, including Mr. Fu, were persecuted. “Master Fou Ts’ong, a great artist whom I respected very much, may there be no illness in heaven,” wrote Chinese pianist Lang Lang, mourning Fou’s death. [Photo by Li Qingeng/For China Daily] Kong, a professor at the Royal College of Music in London, had received regular coaching and mentoring from Fou. In the waning days of 2020, Covid-19 has claimed the life of Fou Ts’ong, the original Chinese poet of the keyboard and the first internationally acclaimed Chinese soloist. The concert caught the attention of officials in Beijing, who selected him to compete and tour in Eastern Europe. Fou Ts'ong, the first Chinese pianist to win global acclaim and success, has died aged 86 after contracting Covid-19. Mr. Fou performing in New York City in 2006. Fou Ts'ong, who has died from Covid-19 aged 86, was among the first Chinese-born pianists to achieve renown in the West, where he was known for his freshness of … Full of advice, encouragement, life teachings and stern paternal love, the book, “Fu Lei’s Family Letters,” became a best seller in China. Mr. Fou’s death came at a time of resurgent nationalism in China. LI QINGENG/FOR CHINA DAILY Internationally celebrated pianist Fou Ts'ong has died in Britain at the age of 86, prompting tributes from the music world. His correspondence with his father, a leading intellectual in China, became a best-selling book after the Cultural Revolution. Betty White Death – Dead, Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death, Passed Away: On January 18, 2021, InsideEko Media learned about the death of Betty … He is doubtless a sincere musician, and in years to come he will make up in large part his present deficiencies.

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