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Rudolph Tang

“Writer and expert on the classical music industry in China”New York Times

Rudolph Tang (唐若甫) is a journalist for Musical America based in Shanghai and Beijing, member of the Society for Musical Criticism of China since 2018. He has covered topics on classical music and opera since 2000.

While studying English linguistics and literature at Tongji University, he worked for Music Lover magazine (音樂愛好者) published by Shanghai Music Publishing House and special correspondent of Philharmonic magazine (愛樂雜誌) published by SDX Publishing Company in Beijing. His first concert review was published on Philharmonic magazine in 2001 when he was 21 years old. It was a mixed review on Tan Dun’s Water Music.

Subsequently, he has reviewed over 700 performances for major Chinese publications including concerts and new opera productions in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Hungary, Czech, Slovakia, Malta, Italy, Vatican, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, US as well as dozens of cities in the Greater China Region, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Two years after graduation, he joined the Chinese editorial team of Gramophone magazine in Beijing, initially as assistant editor and Editor since early 2006. He served as a jury member of the MIDEM Classical Awards in 2008.

2008 to 2013, he was the head of research on orchestras’ business model and management pattern for the China Symphony Development Foundation as well as the Alliance of Asia-Pacific Region Orchestras.

Apart from academic research, he is an occasional contributor to das Orchester, The Podium, Auditorium, FT Chinese, China Daily, GQ, Noblesse, Tatler, and Slipped Disc. He was a frequent guest of Music Radio Beijing from 2006-2013 and appears on Music Radio Shanghai regularly, as well as international conventions of MIDEM, ABO, LAO, FIM-IOC, EMC-IMC, ISCM-WMD, ISPA, IAMA, C:N, PEARLE*, FACP, AAPRO.

His first book The Many Faces of Musicians in China, a collection of music criticism and journalism since 2005, was published by Beijing Normal University Press in September 2014. He was the co-author of China Creative Digest 2014 & 2015 published by the Ministry of Culture China. A native of Shanghai, he is on the nominating committee of Classical: NEXT’s Innovation Awards 2015-19. Other than writing, he is a guest lecturer on music criticism at conservatories in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Contributed Posts
Feb 11, 2024 Cancelling the Cancel Culture: Top Trends of Classical Music in 2023
Dec 6, 2023 Émigré
New Oratorio Remembers Jewish Refugees in Shanghai
Dec 30, 2022 Most Memorable Events in China’s Classical Music Scene 2022
Sep 23, 2022 Granted an Audience by the Queen
Dec 31, 2021 My Top Ten Concert Experiences in China in 2021
Dec 30, 2019 2019’s Great Concerts in China
Aug 3, 2019 Long Yu: Guardian of the Orchestral Galaxy
May 6, 2019 Three Dynasties Make One Orchestra
Jul 18, 2018 An orchestra from Lang Lang’s hometown
May 20, 2018 The Opera Scene in China