Haochen Zhang

piano

Since winning his gold medal win at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. In 2017, he received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognizes talented musicians with the potential for a major career in music.

Zhang has appeared at many of the world’s most esteemed festivals and venues and with many of the world’s leading orchestras. His engagements have included the BBC Proms with the China Philharmonic and conductor Long Yu; The Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Munich Philharmonic with Lorin Maazel on a sold-out tour in Munich and China; the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with David Robertson on a tour of China; the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with Thomas Hengelbrock on a tour of Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai; the Mariinsky Orchestra; the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; the Israel, Japan, London, Los Angeles, New York, Taiwan, and Warsaw philharmonic orchestras; and the London, Frankfurt Radio, San Francisco, Seattle, and Singapore symphony orchestras. His recital engagements have included Spivey Hall, the Cliburn Concerts, and Wolf Trap’s Discovery Series, among others.

Zhang joined the Filarmonica della Scala; Staatskapelle Berlin; Festival Orchestra of Arizona Musicfest; China and Hong Kong philharmonic orchestras; and Guangzhou, Memphis, NHK, and Shanghai symphony orchestras. Additionally, he toured North America with the Dover Quartet and made recital appearances at The Frederic Chopin Society in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Asia.

In recent seasons, Zhang debuted with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, toured Asia with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and gave recital and concerto performances on tours that included appearances in China, Hong Kong, and Japan. In October 2017, Zhang gave a concerto performance at Carnegie Hall with the China NCPA Orchestra, which was followed by his recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

In 2019, Zhang released his debut concerto album for BIS Records, performing Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano concerto with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, led by Dima Slobodeniouk. He released his debut solo album, which features works by Schumann, Brahms, Janáček, and Liszt, for BIS Records in February 2017. The Harmonia Mundi label released Zhang’s performances at the Cliburn competition to critical acclaim in 2009. Zhang is also featured in director Peter Rosen’s award-winning documentary A Surprise in Texas, which chronicles the 2009 Cliburn competition.

Zhang is an avid chamber musician, and he’s collaborated with colleagues such as the Shanghai, Tokyo, and Brentano string quartets. He’s frequently invited to appear with chamber music festivals in the United States, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.

Haochen Zhang is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied under Gary Graffman. He’s also been studying periodically with Andreas Haefliger in Vienna. He was previously trained at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Shenzhen Arts School, where he was admitted in 2001 at the age of 11 to study with Professor Dan Zhaoyi.