Sunday 1 August
Lixin Zhang – Piano
Just announced! (July 2021) Lixin has just been awarded the Silver Medal at the Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Competition in the United States. He is the first New Zealander ever to be a laureate of this prestigious competition.
Programme
Chopin: Ballade No 1
Chopin: Sonata No 3
Mozart: Sonata in C, K 330
Chopin: Nocturne in C minor Op 48, No 1
Liszt: Vallée d’Obermann
Lorelle McNaughton (originally scheduled for this date) has had to cancel, but in her place we are thrilled to introduce one of New Zealand’s most exciting young talents – pianist Lixin Zhang.
Currently studying at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles (remotely at present because of Covid-19), Lixin also studies with Michael Endres and Neville Baird while at home in Christchurch.
His first major prize was winning the Wallace National Junior Piano Competition and the special award for Best Performance of a Classical Sonata. Since then, he has gone on to win each of the major New Zealand piano competitions including the National Young Performer Award, Wallace National Piano Competition and the National Concerto Competition. He has also received recognition in various international competitions. Lixin has been selected as a finalist in the 2020 Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition (postponed until 2021 due to Covid-19). He has extensively toured New Zealand and has given performances in Asia and Europe, as well as participating in numerous international music festivals.
His first CD, released by Rattle Records in 2018, promptly shot to first place in Radio NZ’s Classical Charts.
His programme will focus on the music of Chopin with a touch of Mozart and Liszt.