Yang Hongnian (杨鸿年) won more awards in international choral competitions than any other Chinese conductor, leading the Beijing Philharmonic Choir ensemble around the world for more than 30 years.
杨鸿年（杨鸿年）在国际合唱比赛中获得的奖项比其他任何中国指挥家都多，带领北京爱乐合唱团环游世界30多年。
Born in Nanjing in 1934, Yang first worked as conductor for the Nanjing People’s Radio Station’s Chorus in 1951. He was to go on to be vividly remembered.
杨于1934年出生于南京，1951年首次担任南京人民广播电台合唱团的指挥。 他继续被生动地记住。
In 1983, the leaders of the Beijing Guanyuan Art Training Centre wanted to organise a children’s chorus of the highest level in China. They were recommended Yang, who readily agreed, famously promising, “Let the choir become the best in Beijing within 1 year, the best in the country in 2 years, enter the international ranks in 3 years and reach a truly international level in 4 years”.
1983年，北京观源艺术培训中心的领导们想组织一场中国最高级别的儿童合唱团。 他们被推荐了杨，杨欣然同意了，以著名的承诺：“让合唱团在1年内成为北京最好的，在2年内成为全国最好的，在3年内进入国际行列，并在4年内达到真正的国际水平”。
Those 4 years later, the Children and Young Women’s Chorus of China National Symphony Orchestra (now the Beijing Philharmonic Choir) performed in the Third International Children’s Choir Festival in Washington D.C., USA, in 1987. There they received a Highest Appreciation Certificate, signed by then-US president, Ronald Reagan.
4年后，中国国家交响乐团（现为北京爱乐合唱团）的儿童和青年女合唱团于1987年在美国华盛顿特区举行的第三届国际儿童合唱团音乐节上演出。 在那里，他们获得了由时任美国总统罗纳德·里根签署的最高感谢证书。
On the other side of the pond, the Austrian capital of Vienna is famed for its New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker), making the city’s citizens hard to impress. When Yang and his choir performed there in 1990, then-Austrian president, Rudolf Kirchschläger, heaped on the praise, saying, “A concert of such brilliance should be heard by everyone in Vienna”.
在池塘的另一边，奥地利首都维也纳以其新年音乐会（Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker）而闻名，这使得这座城市的市民很难留下深刻印象。 1990年，当杨和他的合唱团在那里演出时，时任奥地利总统鲁道夫·基希施莱格（Rudolf Kirchschläger）赞不绝口，他说：“维也纳的每个人都应该听到如此辉煌的音乐会。”
By now, the awards were mounting up. In May, 1997, the ensemble won the only special prize at the International Art Festival in Moscow commemorating the 200th anniversary of Pushkin’s birth.
到现在，奖项越来越多。 1997年5月，该团在莫斯科纪念普希金诞辰200周年的国际艺术节上赢得了唯一的特别奖。
Taking the choir on frequent tours abroad, Yang’s efforts helped over 5,000 Chinese children and young women experience the cultures and welcomes of many other countries and regions, including Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Macao, Singapore, Sweden and Taiwan. Under Yang, they sung over 1,000 performances worldwide, releasing no less than 32 CD and DVD albums and seven collections of children’s choral music.
杨的努力带合唱团经常出国旅行，帮助5000多名中国儿童和年轻妇女体验了许多其他国家和地区的文化和欢迎，包括澳大利亚、香港、意大利、日本、澳门、新加坡、瑞典和台湾。 在杨的领导下，他们在全球演唱了1000多场演出，发行了不少于32张CD和DVD专辑和7首儿童合唱音乐集。
Yang became famous worldwide not only for being prolific in his field, but also for a musical prowess that saw him conduct with zeal and precision.
杨不仅因其在该领域的多产而闻名于世，还因其音乐能力而闻名于世，他以热情和精确的指挥。
In recognition of his outstanding artistic achievements, conductors from various countries elected Yang Vice Chairman of the International Society of Children’s Choral and Performing Arts on three consecutive occasions.
为了表彰他的杰出艺术成就，来自各国的指挥家连续三次选举杨为国际儿童合唱和表演艺术协会副主席。
Yet, Yang’s zenith, as well as that of his choir, arguably came about as part of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The choir had been selected to be a key ingredient in the bidding process for both the 2000 and 2008 Games, by an organising committee keen to impress the IOC with a potential cultural contribution to the Games.
然而，Yang和他的合唱團的巔峰可以說是2008年北京奧運會的一部分。 该合唱团被一个组委会选中，成为2000年和2008年奥运会竞标过程中的关键组成部分，该组委会热衷于以对奥运会的潜在文化贡献给国际奥委会留下深刻印象。
With the latter bid a success, on 8 August, 2008, 66 lucky choir members were among the Chinese and foreign children who sang The Olympic Anthem at the opening ceremony of the 29th Games of the Olympiad. It was a fitting climax for the ensemble whose motto is “Love and Devotion”.
随着后者的成功，2008年8月8日，在第29届奥运会开幕式上，66名幸运的合唱团成员在中外儿童中演唱了《奥林匹克国歌》。 对于座右铭是“爱与奉献”的合奏来说，这是一个恰当的高潮。
In January 2014, Yang was awarded the honorary title of “2013 Chinese Cultural Figure”.
2014年1月，杨被授予“2013中国文化人物”荣誉称号。
He once sighed that the timbre in children’s voices is the clearest and most ethereal in all of the human lifespan; its moment in the sun snuffed out all too quickly.
他曾经叹了口气，说孩子们的声音是人类一生中最清晰、最空灵的；它在阳光下的时刻很快就消失了。
Yang passed away of illness, aged 86, on 26 July, 2020.
Yang于2020年7月26日因病去世，享年86岁。