Tyzen Hsiao
Taiwanese composer (1938–2015)
Tyzen Hsiao (Chinese: 蕭泰然; pinyin: Xiāo Tàirán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siau Thài-jiân; 1 January 1938 – 24 February 2015) was a Taiwanese composer of the neo-Romantic school. Many of his vocal works set poems written in Taiwanese Hokkien, the mother tongue of the majority of the island's residents at the time. His compositions stand as a musical manifestation of the Taiwanese literature movement that revitalized the island's literary and performing arts in the 1970s and 1980s. Hsiao's career in music included additional success as a pianist and conductor.
Music
Tyzen Hsiao's rich tonal style earned him an international reputation as "Taiwan's Rachmaninoff". His compositions include works for solo instruments and chamber ensembles, many works for solo voice, and large-scale pieces for orchestras and choirs with soloists.
Hsiao's most widely performed large-scale pieces include:
Formosa Symphony, opus 49 (1987)
Violin Concerto in D, opus 50 (1988)
Cello Concerto in C, opus 52 (1990)
Piano Concerto in C minor, opus 53 (1992)
1947 Overture for soprano, chorus and orchestra (1993)
Ode to Yu-Shan (Jade Mountain) (1999)
Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs (2001)
Hsiao's art songs have become standard repertory in Taiwan. "Taiwan the Formosa" or "Taiwan the Green" has achieved status as the Taiwan's unofficial national anthem. The song appears as well in the 1947 Overture. Other well-known art songs include "The Fairest Flower", "Eternal Hometown", a Taiwanese-language setting of Psalm 23, and "I Love Taiwan." He has also won acclaim for his folk song settings, such as "Brother Andon Goes to Market" and "The Grasshopper and the Rooster." Many of Hsiao's songs also exist in orchestral song versions.
“Tyzen Hsiao” enters the record as taiwanese composer (1938–2015). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Tyzen, Hsiao and Taiwanese can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q703895. VIAF identifies the subject as 43940789. The Library of Congress control number is no99086678. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938, 2015, 1987 and 1988.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tyzen Hsiao” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.