Daniel K. L. Chua

Daniel Kwan Liang Chua is a musicologist. He is Chair Professor of Music at the University of Hong Kong, where he has also served as Head of the School of Humanities. Chua's research focuses on Ludwig van Beethoven and axiological issues in the foundation of Western music history, music theory and analysis, and global musicology.

Early life and education Chua attended the Purcell School for Young Musicians, and was educated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he received a BA in music. He continued his studies at St John's College, Cambridge, earning his MPhil and PhD.

Academic career Chua began his academic career in 1993 at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was a Research Fellow and Director of Studies in Music. He joined King's College London in 1997 as a lecturer in music and was promoted to Professor of Music Theory and Analysis in 2006.

In 2008, Chua joined the University of Hong Kong as Professor of Music and Head of the School of Humanities, a position he held until 2014. As Head, he co-founded The Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, Faith and Global Engagement, and the Advanced Cultural Leadership Programme. He was appointed the inaugural Mr and Mrs Hung Hing-Ying Endowed Professor in the Arts in 2017 and was conferred a Chair Professorship in 2021.

Chua has held visiting fellowships and professorships at institutions including Harvard University and Yale University. He served as President of the International Musicological Society from 2017 to 2022.

Honours and awards

Henry Fellowship, Harvard University (1990–1991) Dent Medal, Royal Musical Association (2004) Fellow, Yale Institute of Sacred Music (2014–2015) Honorary Fellow, American Musicological Society (2018) Presidential Plenary Endowed Lecturer, American Musicological Society (2022) Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy (2022) Distinguished Research Achievement Award, University of Hong Kong (2022–2023) Wallace Berry Award, Society for Music Theory (2024) Pedagogy and Public-Facing Scholarship Award, Society for Music Theory (2025)

Books

Monographs The Galitzin Quartets of Beethoven. Princeton University Press, 1995. Absolute Music and the Construction of Meaning. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Beethoven and Freedom. Oxford University Press, 2017. Alien Listening: Voyager’s Golden Record and Music from Earth. Zone Books, 2021. (With Alexander Rehding.) Music and Joy: Lessons on the Good Life. Yale University Press, 2024.

Edited books Begbie, Jeremy; Chua, Daniel K. L.; Rathey, Markus (eds.). Theology, Music, and Modernity: Struggles for Freedom. Oxford University Press, 2021. Chua, Daniel K. L.; Cook, Nicholas; Philips-Hutton, Ariana; Țiplea Temeș, Bianca (eds.). Perpetual Encounter: Globalisation, Cosmopolitanism, and Acculturation in Music. MediaMusic, 2024. Chua, Daniel K. L.; Chong, Nicholas (eds.). Rethinking Beethoven and the Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Selected publications Chua, Daniel K. L. (2007). "Rioting with Stravinsky: A Particular Analysis of the Rite of Spring." Music Analysis. 26 (1–2): 59–109. Chua, Daniel K. L. (2009). "Beethoven’s Other Humanism." Journal of the American Musicological Society. 62 (3): 571–645. doi:10.1525/jams.2009.62.3.571. Chua, Daniel K. L. (2011). "Listening to the Self: The Shawshank Redemption and the Technology of Music." Nineteenth-Century Music. 34 (3): 341–355. Chua, Daniel K. L. (2014). "Beethoven Going Blank." Journal of Musicology. 31 (3): 299–325. doi:10.1525/jm.2014.31.3.299. Chua, Daniel K. L. (2022). "Global Musicology: A Keynote Without a Key." Acta Musicologica. 94 (1): 109–126.