Guo Wenjing (Chinese: ; b. Chongqing, China, February 1, 1956) is a Chinese composer and educator.
Guo Wenjing is a contemporary Chinese composer. Unlike many Chinese composers who have studied and lived in other countries, he has only studied in Beijing. He has lived and worked in his home country for nearly his entire life with the exception of a short period of time living in New York. However, over the years he has had many works commissioned around the world. He and his music have appeared at the Beijing Music Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Holland Music Festival, New York Lincoln Center Festival, Paris Autumn Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Almeida Theatre (London), Frankfurt Opera (Germany), Konzerthaus Berlin (Germany), Kennedy Center (Washington), as well as Turin, Warsaw, etc. In addition, he is contracted by CASA RICORDI-BMG and the first composer to be contracted by People’s Music Publishing House. His music has been given high praise both at home and abroad by The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian, People’s Music, etc.1
He began attending the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing in 1978, the year of that institution's reopening, and later served as the head of the composition department there; he remains on the faculty.
He has composed for both Western and Chinese instruments. His works include concertos for erhu and bamboo flute, and an opera based on the life of the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. He composed the score to several films, including Blush (1994), In the Heat of the Sun (1994), and Zhang Yimou's Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005).
Guo's music is published by Casa Ricordi. It has been performed by the Nieuw Ensemble, Atlas Ensemble, Cincinnati Percussion Group, Kronos Quartet, Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.