Zhang Zuo

Program

An imaginative and electrifying performer, Chinese pianist Zhang Zuo makes her Washington, DC, debut at the Phillips performing Beethoven’s Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3, the characterful Carnival Scenes from Vienna by Schumann, and Schubert’s Sonata in C minor, D. 958.

Program

Ludwig Beethoven (1770–1827)
Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3

About the Artist

An imaginative and electrifying performer, Zhang Zuo has been chosen to join BBC’s flagship Young Artist programme in the UK for the next two seasons. New Generation Artists perform a series of high–profile concerts in London and around Great Britain, including a prestigious appearance at the BBC Proms. Zhang Zuo will also record with the BBC Orchestras and play for thousands of people on BBC Radio 3.

Possessing dazzling technical prowess and spontaneous flair, she has been described as “full of enthusiasm and glamour, radiating the vigor of youth” (Chinese Gramophone). Zhang’s powerfully individual interpretations and communicative abilities have been praised as “taking us to another reality…bright, expressive and moving to the extreme” (Belgischer Rundfunk) while her creative maturity has been hailed as “a powerful, passionate and compelling representation of pure artistry” (Los Angeles Times).

Zhang Zuo’s unique musical talent was first discovered in Germany, where she began her training at age five. Upon her return to China, she soon became one of the most sought after young artists in the nation, collaborating with virtually all major Chinese orchestras such as Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and Guangzhou Philharmonic. The success of Zhang Zuo’s debuts with top international orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and National Orchestra of Belgium, brought invitations to perform in the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory.

Zhang Zuo is looking forward to her recital and concerto tour of Belgium in October of this year, which resulted from her success at the 2013 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition. Other highlights of the coming season include collaborations with Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as a tour of China with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Having completed her piano studies with Dan Zhao Yi at the Shenzhen Arts School , Zhang Zuo was invited to continue her artistic development under the mentorship of Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music and Yoheved Kaplinsky and Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she won the coveted Petschek Piano Award. Among Zhan Zuo’s achievements are first prizes at China’s 1st International Piano Concerto Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in America, and the Krainev International Piano Competition in Ukraine.