The piano is a musical instrument transmitted from abroad to China, so it started late in China. But it does not affect China to produce a group of very good pianists. Even on the world stage, Chinese pianists are widely acclaimed. This post will introduce you to the top 10 famous pianists in China.
1. Tang Liling 唐丽玲
Tang Liling is the first generation of Chinese pianists and music educators. She is a representative of the De-Austrian piano school in early China and an authoritative performer of De-Austrian piano music works during the Republic of China. Performer” and “China’s Tomorrow’s First-Class Pianist”, is one of the first female pianists in China to enjoy an international reputation. She is an early performer who introduced Western classical music works to China, and has made historic contributions to promoting the spread of Western music in China.
2. Zhou Guangren 周广仁
Zhou Guangren, one of China’s top ten piano masters, is China’s first pianist to win an international competition, and is known as “the soul of Chinese piano education”. She has directly trained and educated more than 300 professional piano talents. Many of her students have won awards in important international and domestic competitions, including Pang Bo, Sheng Yuan, Liu Ning, Wang Xiaohan and other well-known young pianists in China. She was named one of “China’s Most Outstanding Women of the 20th Century”.
3. Wu Yili 巫漪丽
Chinese pianist Wu Yili is one of the pioneers of Chinese piano. In 1939, she performed Beethoven’s No. 1 Piano Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for the first time, which aroused enthusiastic responses in the industry. In the early 1950s, he served as the first piano soloist of the Central Orchestra. In 1962, he was named a national first-class pianist, and was cordially received by Premier Zhou Enlai. In 2017, he was awarded the “World Outstanding Chinese Artist Award”. Representative works: “The Master of the Generation I”, “The Master of the Generation II”, “The Last Rose of Summer”, etc.
4. Fu Cong 傅聪
Which famous Chinese pianists are the most influential in the world? In 1955, the 21-year-old Fu Cong won the third place in the 5th Chopin International Piano Competition and the “Mazurka” Best Performance Award. This is the first time an Oriental has participated in this competition. In 1959, he left his hometown for art, causing a sensation. Since then, he has traveled around five continents, galloping on the international music stage alone, and won the reputation of “piano poet”. Fu Cong plays a wide range of repertoires, ranging from Bach and Scarlatti to Bartok and Scriabin. Especially good at playing Mozart, Chopin, Debussy’s works, representative works: “Chopin-Mazurkas”, “Poetic Chopin” and so on.
5. Li Mingqiang 李名强
Li Mingqiang is also often mentioned in the top ten rankings of Chinese pianists. He successively studied under the German Jewish Widenburg, Yu Bianmin and the Soviet expert Kravchenko. In 1956, he joined the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as the art director of the Orchestra Department, and then transferred to the Piano Department to teach. He has won the 3rd prize in the 3rd Smetana International Piano Competition of “Prague Spring”, the 1st prize in the 1st George Ainescu International Piano Competition, and the 4th prize in the 6th Chopin International Piano Competition. He has performed in more than 20 countries, regions and countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
6. Gu Shengying 顾圣婴
The famous female pianist Gu Shengying was one of the “Five Chinese Piano Masters” in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, she won the gold medal in the 6th World Youth Festival Piano Competition in Moscow. In October 1958, she participated in the Geneva 1958. In the 14th International Piano Competition, he won the highest award with Maurizio Pollini, who became a world-famous piano master in the future. He was famous in the world music circle. In April 1964, he participated in the Belgian International Piano Competition and won the grand prize again. Dutch and Finnish performances.
7. Liu Shikun 刘诗昆
Liu Shikun, one of the top ten Chinese pianists, graduated from the Moscow Conservatory of Music. In 1956, he won the third prize in the “Liszt International Piano Competition” and the Hungarian Rhapsody Performance Award. In 1958, he won the second prize in the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. In 1978, he toured the United States and was invited to perform at the White House. In 1992, he founded the Piano Art Center named after himself in Hong Kong. In 1994, he served as a judge of the “Tenth Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition”. He has been called “a pianist with rare magic power”, “the most outstanding pianist in China” and “a world-class pianist” by foreign newspapers.
8. Bao Huiqiao 鲍蕙荞
Bao Huiqiao is one of the most famous pianists in China. Her playing skills are adept, her feelings are sincere, she is dazzling and dazzling, and she has a strong artistic appeal. In 1961, she was selected to participate in the 2nd George Enescu International Piano In the domestic selection of the competition, she stood out among the many contestants in the country, represented China to participate in the competition in Romania, and finally won the fifth place. Since 1970, she has been the piano soloist of the China Symphony Orchestra and won the national first-class performer. He has served as a jury member for many international piano competitions.
9. Yin Chengzong 殷承宗
Yin Chengzong is a recognized Chinese pianist. Lang Lang, a famous contemporary pianist, is his student. At the age of 12, he will be admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated High School. He won the first prize in the piano competition at the 2010 International Festival, and later became popular due to his successful arrangement and performance of the piano accompaniment “The Story of the Red Lantern” and the piano concerto “The Yellow River”. Several recordings, including his 1971 “Yellow River” Piano Concerto with the China Central Orchestra, has sold millions of copies.
10. Kong Xiangdong 孔祥东
Among the famous Chinese pianists, Kong Xiangdong also has a certain international influence. He is one of the best and most active Chinese pianists in the international music scene today. In the Del International Competition, he became the youngest winner twice, which attracted the attention of the world music circle. In 1992, he won the first prize and four special awards of the 5th Sydney International Piano Competition. In 2004, he was invited by the Austrian Federal Chancellery to become the first Chinese musician to give a piano recital at the Musikverein in Vienna. So far, audiences from more than 40 countries and regions have personally experienced his passionate performance. Western media praised him as “only one or two talented pianists can be produced in a century”.
See Also: Top 10 Music Schools in China