Programme
LAUDE DEBUSSY: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY: Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8

- intermission -

ROBERT SCHUMANN: Adagio & Allegro, Op. 70
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38

 

Alban Gerhardt
“One of the finest cellists around – expressive, unshowy and infinitely classy“ (The Guardian). He has won the "triple crown" honor of the Echo Klassik Awards, a prestigious German classical music award.His recording has received a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine and is highly recommended by the editor of Gramophone Magazine.He owns a Matteo Goffriller cello made in 1710 by the great Italian luthier Giovanni Grancino.He has performed on stage with over 250 orchestras from around the world.

Alban Gerhardt holds a unique place in the hearts of music lovers worldwide with his intense musicality, convincing stage interpretation, and insatiable desire for artistic exploration. In 2016, his performance at the BBC Proms in London was praised by The Daily Telegraph as "his playing is as warm as a song." He has a talent for bringing fresh light and vitality to well-known works; at the same time, he has a tireless spirit in exploring and researching new and lesser-known repertoires from past centuries to the present. These qualities make him stand out among his peers.

 

 

Pianist: Yingjia Xue
As one of the most prominent pianist in China, Yingjia Xue holds a large repertoire of solo, concerto and chamber music. In 2003, he won a prize at the International Competition André Dumortier. In 2004, he won the 1st prize at the Scriabin Competition in Paris. In 2005, he was the 1st Laureate of the Yamaha Piano Competition in Belgium.

Yingjia Xue has given recitals and chamber music concerts in Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada and etc. He has been invited to play at the most prestigious festivals like the Moritzburg Festiva in Dresden, the Semaine Musicale de Crans-Montana in Switzerland, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Festival d’Orford in Canada and the Festival des Arcs in France.

He has been invited to play with many orchestras, as La Chapelle Musicale de Tournai, L’Orchestra Ensemble de Paris, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, Changsha Symphony Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and Qingdao Symphony Orchestra and etc., with conductors as Conrad Van Alphen, Christian Ehwald, Philippe Gérard, Victor Hugo Toro, Xieyang Chen, Muhai Tang, Yongyan Hu, Lihua Tan, Xiaotang Xia and Liang Zhang.

In 2009 and 2010, he was invited to play a recital in Milan and Turin in memory of Haydn and Chopin’s anniversary. After coming back to China, he has been invited to perform in all the major concert halls like the National Center for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Shanghai Grand Theatre and Shenzhen Concert Hall etc.

In 2006 he was invited as the only Chinese pianist by the famous Japanese broadcaster NHK to make the TV program Super Piano Masterclass Series , which has been published officially in DVD.

In 2020, he recorded a live recital concert and released a solo album titled Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven's Birth, which was published by China's largest record company, China Record Corporation and received widespread acclaim. In 2021 he was invited to take part in the world premiere, as the piano soloist, to perform the first piano concerto of Mr. Wenjing GUO (2021) with Beijing Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Lihua TAN at NCPA. This new concerto is also a commission work composed especially for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the world premiere was a huge success.

He is currently teaching in Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Central Conservatory of Music (Xiamen Branch) and serving as an Associate Professor at the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). From 2005 to 2009 he studied in the celebrated Accademia Pianistica “Incontri col Maestro” of Imola with the reputed pianists Louis Lortie, Michel Dalberto and Boris Petrushansky.