Praised as “especially impressive” and “a thoughtful, sensitive performer” who “balanced lyrical warmth and crisp clarity” (Tommasini – The New York Times), pianist Zhu Wang was awarded First Prize in the 2020 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. He is also the first prize winner of the 2nd Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians, 4th Manhattan International Music Competition, Hilton Head Young Artist Piano Competition, the Juilliard Gina Bachauer International Scholarship Piano Competition, and the Juilliard Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. In 2019, Zhu was one of three finalists in the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, and he has been a featured soloist on WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase and WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.
Celebrated for his “technical mastery and deep sense of lyricism,” (The Durango Herald), Zhu has appeared in recital at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars Series, Southampton Rising Stars, Music at Dumbarton Oaks, The Morgan Library & Museum, Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Series, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Salon de Virtuosi, and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, which made The New York Times’ “Best of Classical Music 2021” list.
An avid chamber musician he has appeared with Chamber Music Detroit, Vancouver Recital Society, La Jolla Music Society, Stanford Live, Hamilton College, Howland Chamber Music Series, Chesapeake Music, Clarion Concerts, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Music@Menlo, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center,
Since his orchestral debut at age 14 with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, where he performed Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, recent and upcoming include the Columbus Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and Aiken Symphony, as well as a performance this season at Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony, with conductors such as Rossen Milanov, Paolo Bortolameolli, Robert Moody, and Wes Kinney.
Zhu has performed all over the world in China, Korean, Italy, Poland, Japan, at prestigious venues including the Kammermusiksaal of Berliner Philharmonie, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall and as soloist with Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Zermatt Music Festival Orchestra, Brunensis Virtuosi Orchestra, and the Xiamen Philharmonic. This season he will perform with Randall Goosby at Queen Elizabeth Hall in South Bank.
Zhu has been honored to study with and perform for many influential pianists, including Gary Graffman, Arie Vardi, Fou Ts’ong, Stephen Hough, Murray Perahia, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert Levin, Matti Raekallio, and Jeremy Denk. He is also the recipient of special prizes for the best Waltz, Preludes, and Mazurka in the 5th International Chopin Young Artist Piano Competition and the 16th Asian Chopin International Piano Competition in Japan.
A native of Hunan, China, Zhu started learning piano at the age of five. He is a graduate of the Music Middle School affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Zhe Tang and Fou Ts’ong. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, and is currently pursuing his Masters from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald. He gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts.
