Xian Xinghai public domain in US?

[aufman]

Hello

I've been looking at the Xian Xinghai pages and I noticed that some scores are listed as most likely not in public domain in the US and some scores are already are public domain. Most of the pieces on IMSLP for Xian Xinghai are published at around the same time give or take a few years.

A good example is the two Symphonies and the Yellow River Cantata. How is it that the first symphony is indicated as most likely nonPD in the US and the second symphony is considered PD? The first publication dates are 1941 and 1943 respectively and republished in 1955. The pdfs uploaded for the two works look like they both came from the same book. Something is inconsistent here. If the first symphony is nonPD in the US, then the second symphony should be nonPD too since they are both published after 1923.

How come Yellow River cantata is also PD in the US when it was published in 1941, same year as the first symphony? Even the Chinese Rhapsody is PD in the US and published in 1945. I can understand the issue with works having text being copyrighted in the meantime.

This looks inconsistent and it isn't making a whole lot of sense. I hope somebody can shed some light on this. I would love to see these works performed in the US and the copyright will make it a little more difficult since it is almost impossible to find actual published orchestral parts of this music. I don't want to violate copyright by using self made computer typeset orchestral parts (ie Lilypond, Sibelius, Finale) for an orchestral performance.

[TheGrassGuy]

I think copyright works a little more different for composers not from Europe... idk

[Sallen112]

Ok so with this composer, right off the bat he is in the public domain now in Canada and the EU. To answer your questions about the first and second symphonies, those are PD in the USA because of no proper copyright stamp on the piece and no renewal (I assume) was found in the catelogue of copyright entries. At the time, since they were published in a communist state with with people having no right, only to the state (same as the Soviet Union) it is extremely unlikely these would be under copyright in the United States then. Same thing with the Yellow River, which I assume did not have a proper copyright notice, but that piece is under copyright in Canada and the EU because of the librettist.

[TheGrassGuy]

Ok so with this composer, right off the bat he is in the public domain now in Canada and the EU. To answer your questions about the first and second symphonies, those are PD in the USA because of no proper copyright stamp on the piece and no renewal (I assume) was found in the catelogue of copyright entries. At the time, since they were published in a communist state with with people having no right, only to the state (same as the Soviet Union) it is extremely unlikely these would be under copyright in the United States then. Same thing with the Yellow River, which I assume did not have a proper copyright notice, but that piece is under copyright in Canada and the EU because of the librettist.

Thanks!