Yangfan Xu (b. 1998) holds a deep passion and love for cats. Whenever she hears a string player glissando in the upper registers, she can’t help but think of a cat's meow. In addition to her feline obsession, Xu is a Chinese-born US-based composer who comes from a musical family in Lanzhou, Gansu province, with a spoiled cat who eats better than everyone else.
Xu is a distinguished composer recognized for her innovative works and multiple prestigious awards. She is the winner of the 2023 Boston New Music Initiative Commission Competition, the 2021 Society for New Music's Israel/Pellman Award, and the 1st Prize of the 2020 Hausmann Quartet Quarantine Composition Competition. In 2021, she won the New Juilliard Ensemble Composition Competition, and her commissioned work "Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas" premiered at Lincoln Center with the New Juilliard Ensemble in 2022. Xu has been a Grammy voting member since 2024.
Xu has received significant commissions from the Impulse New Music Festival, Boston New Music Initiative, saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky, and the New York Choreographic Institute affiliated with the New York City Ballet. Her music has been enjoyed by audiences worldwide and performed by renowned ensembles such as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Contemporary Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, New Juilliard Ensemble, Friction Quartet, Hausmann Quartet, Kroma Quartet, SFCM New Music Ensemble, Choral Chameleon, Keyed Kontraptions, and Ravel Virtual Studios.
Xu studied musicology at the high school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in China. She received her bachelor’s degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Mason Bates, and her master’s degree in composition from the Juilliard School, under Robert Beaser. She is currently pursuing a DMA at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Kati Agócs.
Released Recordings
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We Outgrow Love Like Other Things - song cycle | 15’37’’
Recorded by Mary Johnston Letellier, Thai Johnson, Tristan Leung
Produced by Futura Productions
Released in 2024
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Dogon Masks - viola and piano | 9’40’’
Recorded by Yuchen Lu and Andrew Hsu
Released in 2024
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Uplifting Melodies of the Summer Wind - piano trio | 5’41’’
Recorded by K.J. McDonald, Jonah Kernis, Bairun Liu
Released in 2024
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Shiraz Nights - violin and viola duo |ca. 6’
Recorded by Duo Cenoria
Released in 2024
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Jungle Sway (from ballet “Now Listen”) - harp, violin, cello, clarinet, percussion | 7’50
Recorded by Alisa Sadikova, Andrei Caval, Will Hopkins, Luke Henderson, Ian Lum
Produced by Nathan Prillaman supported by the New York City Ballet & New York Choreographic Institute
Released in 2024
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Now Listen - dance film | ca. 9
Produced by New York City Ballet & New York Choreographic Institute
Released in June, 2023
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Bya - orchestra | ca. 8’
Recording by Ravel Virtual Studios in November 2021
Released in December, 2021
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Ecstatic burial - pipa and string quartet | ca. 12’
Recorded by Shuxin Meng and Friction Quartet
Released in July 2018
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Luo Jiang Yuan - A bit Blue - string quartet | ca. 8’
Recorded by Friction Quartet on November 11, 2019
Released in December, 2019
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Shen Hua - orchestra suite | ca. 15’
Recording by Ravel Virtual Studios in November 2019
Released in December, 2019