The author of "Yellow River Cantata" is Xian Xinghai.

Xian Xinghai is a famous musician, composer and pianist in modern China, and is known as the "People's Musician". He was born in 1905 in Panyu, Guangdong. Xian Xinghai has been passionate about music since he was a child. He studied at Nanguo Academy of Arts, Shanghai National Conservatory of Music and Paris Conservatoire. His musical works cover a variety of genres such as symphonies, choruses, piano concertos, chamber music and songs, and are known for their distinctive national characteristics and unique personal style.

Xian Xinghai’s musical works are full of love for the country, nation and people, and embody the Chinese people’s spirit of perseverance and self-improvement. One of his representative works is the large-scale chorus "Yellow River Cantata". This work uses the Yellow River as the background and depicts the vicissitudes of Chinese history and the heroic struggle of the Chinese people. In addition, he also composed many excellent songs, such as "Song of the Guerrillas" and "Go to the Enemy's Rear Lines". These songs were widely sung during the Anti-Japanese War and inspired the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the people across the country.

Xian Xinghai's representative works

1. "On the Taihang Mountains"

"On the Taihang Mountains" is a famous Anti-Japanese War song composed by Xian Xinghai. With impassioned musical language and deeply touching lyrics, this song expresses the heroic struggle and patriotic feelings of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the Taihang Mountains. Through music and art, Xian Xinghai vividly demonstrated the spirit of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the Taihang Mountains, inspiring the anti-Japanese enthusiasm and national pride of the people across the country. This song was not only widely sung at the time, but also became a classic in the history of China’s Anti-Japanese War.

2. "Song of the Guerrilla"

"Song of the Guerrilla" is a classic guerrilla song composed by Xian Xinghai. This song uses light and clear musical language and concise and clear lyrics to depict the fighting life and revolutionary optimism of the guerrillas. Through this song, Xian Xinghai vividly displayed the heroic image and revolutionary sentiments of the guerrillas, allowing people to have a deeper understanding of the hardships and greatness of guerrilla warfare. This song not only became a must-sing song for the guerrillas at that time, but is still widely sung today.