Donemus Webshop — Xing, Yu

The compositions of Xing Yu are distinguished by a distinctive synthesis of Western avant-garde techniques and traditional Asian aesthetics. His works have been premiered and performed in numerous countries, including Germany, the United States, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Philippines, at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kraków Philharmonic Hall. He has also participated in major musical events, including Hamburg Contemporary – The New Music Week in Germany, where he appeared as a conductor specialising in contemporary music, and the Kraków International Festival of Composers in Poland, where he participated as a composer.

Most of his compositions have been published by Donemus Publishing, based in The Hague, the Netherlands. Through Donemus Records, he has also released digital albums featuring his own works, including albums titled Sound Calligraphy and The Painted Skin, which are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major music streaming platforms.

He previously served as concert assistant to the German pianist and conductor Maestro Justus Frantz. In 2026, Xing Yu became an affiliated artist with Global Art & Culture USA, based in the United States. In the same year, he received the ICMA Award (LA): Best of Pangea – Contemporary Classical at the 2026 InterContinental Music Awards in Los Angeles, USA, and won the First Prize in the Composition Category at the 14th Tiziano Rossetti Academy Online Music Competition in Lugano, Switzerland.

Since 2024, he has been invited to serve as Composer in Residence for Hera Trio and Crown Mountain Trio, both based in Atlanta, USA. In October 2024, his commissioned work Die Kunst des Teufels Nr. 1, for violin, violoncello, and piano, was premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City, USA by Crown Mountain Trio (Trio-CMT).

In 2024, Xing Yu dedicated his solo flute piece Monologue to his friend, the Polish flutist Krzysztof Kaczka. He premiered the work at his concert in Manila, the Philippines, in March 2024 and subsequently performed it in Kranj, Slovenia, later that year.

He has participated in concerts associated with the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 37th and 38th Kraków International Festival of Composers in Poland. His compositions Swordsman (2021) and Die Kunst des Teufels Nr. 2 (2025), among others, were premiered in connection with the festival.

In 2018, his composition Cursive Script No. 1 / Grassschrift Nr. 1 was commissioned for the concert Warsztat Kompozytorsko-Wykonawczy, organised within the class of Prof. Dr. hab. Tomasz Sobaniec in Kraków, Poland. Xing Yu also conducted the world premiere of this work.

Xing Yu completed his Master’s degree in Music Composition at the University of Music and Drama Hamburg (HfMT Hamburg), Germany, in 2024. And he previously completed a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków (AMKP), Poland, in 2021, in the class of Prof. Dr. Marcel Chyrzyński. During his studies in Poland, he also received lessons in orchestral conducting from Tomasz Tokarczyk at the Kraków Opera House (Opera Krakowska) and studied electroacoustic and computer music with Prof. Dr. Marek Chołoniewski.

In May 2024, he completed his Master’s graduation concert at HfMT Hamburg, appearing as both composer and conductor. The distinguished German conductor and pianist Maestro Justus Frantz attended the concert and commented his work, remarking: “His sense of colors and effects is fantastic.” And in May 2021, his Bachelor’s graduation work, The Painted Skin, for soprano, baritone and large chamber ensemble, was premiered at the Kraków Philharmonic Hall (Filharmonia Krakowska), Poland.

Xing Yu’s music is characterised by originality, intellectual curiosity, and artistic maturity. His compositions have been received with great enthusiasm by audiences at performances. His creative practice places particular emphasis on sonority and formal awareness, while exploring extended performance techniques and the perception of time. He is especially interested in developing an individual approach to the relationship between Eastern aesthetic concepts and European contemporary music, seeking to balance timbral exploration with the conceptual dimensions of Asian cultures. Rather than adopting established models of cultural synthesis, he pursues this artistic dialogue in his own distinctive way.

His scores are refined down to the last detail. They are prepared very carefully and aesthetically, with attention to the smallest editorial details.

Awards:

2026
ICMA Award (LA): Best of Pangea – Contemporary Classical
2026 InterContinental Music Awards, Los Angeles, USA

2026
First Prize – Composition Category
14th Tiziano Rossetti Academy Online Music Competition, Lugano, Switzerland.

Education:

Master Composition: University of music and drama Hamburg, Germany. (HfMT Hamburg)
Bachelor Composition: Krzysztof Penderecki academy of music in Kraków, Poland. (AMKP Kraków)

“Sein Sinn für Farben und Effekte ist fantastisch” /
“His sense of colors and effects is fantastic”
— — Justus Frantz

“The works of Xing Yu, despite his young age, are very original, interesting and mature. Each performance of his compositions is met with great enthusiasm by the audience. The composer is an extremely hardworking and reliable person, and his scores are refined down to the last detail. They are prepared very carefully and aesthetically, with attention to the smallest editorial details.”
— — Prof. Dr. Marcel Chyrzyński