Today, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China announced the death of its professor emeritus and former director of the piano department Zhou Guangren.
“Zhou Guangren passed away peacefully at her home in Beijing at 16:30 on March 7, 2022, at the age of 94.” the obituary reads. “With her noble personality and broad mind, Zhou Guangren is the leader of piano education in China, from domestic to international, from performance practice to creation, theoretical research, from professional field to popular popularization, and devoted her life to the cause of Chinese Piano education. Zhou Guangren is an outstanding Chinese Female Musician in the 20th century, and is the ‘soul of Chinese piano education.'”
The success of internationally acclaimed pianists such as Lang Lang and Yuja Wang can be attributed to Zhou Guangren. She has been a jury member of many premier international competitions such as the Rubinstein International Competition, the Liszt Utrecht, Chopin International Piano Competition Warsaw, among many more.
She will be sorely missed by the piano community.
