Haiou Zhang

"The C. Bechstein concert grand D 282 has been a faithful partner for me for many years in numerous concerts and recordings. In the process, it became increasingly clear to me: certain timbres and nuances that I desire can only be realized on a Bechstein."

Haiou Zhang

Recent years have seen major concerts by Haiou Zhang in Germany's most prestigious venues: the great hall of the Philharmonie Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Gewandhaus Leipzig as well as the Meistersingerhalle Nuremberg or the Philharmonie Essen. Meanwhile, he was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards in November 2021 for his solo album "My 2020" (hänssler CLASSIC). His Mozart CD with the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Fey was recorded as the official soundtrack for the Netflix series "Money Heist" and received attention worldwide.

Other milestones include Mozart's Piano Concertos K 414 and 415 with the German Chamber Orchestra Berlin at the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin in 2018 and Dvorak's Piano Quintet Op. 81 with the Philharmonic String Quartet of the Berlin Philharmonic at the Berlin Philharmonic's Welcome Back Week festival in 2021.

Born in 1984 in Hohhot, China, Haiou Zhang first studied at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, before continuing at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media with Prof. Bernd Goetzke.

After numerous competition successes, Haiou Zhang launched his career in 2005/06 with celebrated performances at the Braunschweig Classix Festival, and has since appeared at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Kissinger Sommer and many others. In 2010, he founded his own festival in Lower Saxony: the International Music Festival Buxtehude/Altes Land/Harburg/Stade, which is aimed primarily at young audiences. Furthermore, he has been appointed music director of the Öschberghof Klassik concert series in Donaueschingen.

Haiou Zhang performs as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe, North and South America and Asia; his concert appearances have included the Konzerthaus Berlin, Hamburg's Laeiszhalle, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Brucknerhaus Linz, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Grand Theatre Shanghai, Canadian Opera House in Toronto, Sala São Paulo in Brazil, Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, and many others. His partners include the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Andrew Manze, the Russian National Philharmonic under Vladimir Spivakov and the Slovak State Symphony Orchestra under Kerry Stratton. He has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Orchestras of Braunschweig and Oldenburg, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bremerhaven, as well as internationally with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian Sinfonietta, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Haiou Zhang's chamber music partners include the vision string quartet, Quatuor Hermès, Quatuor Diotima, Hába Quartet and Tianwa Yang.

Photos: © Sören Lukas Schirmer

"My 2020" - Haiou Zhangs new Bechstein-CD

Hänssler Classic

“Masterpieces are irreplaceable with their timelessness. I still clearly remember when, for the first time, I heard a couple of bars in the last movement of Beethoven’s Opus 109 – it was about 20 years ago and I felt deeply touched and captured at that moment... It was something truly indescribable to me. I have always believed that I should only record pieces of music to which I feel strongly attached. I felt that this composition would grow as if it were an extension of my own musical language. It is now very clear to me that Opus 109 will always be the music to accompany me through all the ups and downs of life, and the same is also true for Opus 111. It has to be admitted that I totally fell in love with the variations to be found in Opus 111. I desperately wanted to be part of that particular world encompassed by the fragile and sublime colors which are to be found between the “pp” and “ppp” (“very quiet” and “extremely quiet”) parts of the work, which permeate the whole special atmosphere. It seems as if one is being driven towards infinity – somehow it might even take one to a sublime place without conflicts, pain and evil.“ (Haiou Zhang)

The magazine Pizzicato praises Haiou Zhang's powerful attack, his spontaneity as well as his good feeling for the improvisational boldness of Beethoven. Abstract and concrete at the same time, his performance strikes a balance between the purely playful and technical and the expressive, between brooding and restlessness.

This album was recorded on a C. Bechstein concert grand D 282 at the Ölbergkirche Studio in Berlin in October 2020.

Haiou Zhang plays Liszt

Haiou Zhang, one of the best Chinese pianists of the younger generation, recorded 2010 in the Berlin Siemensvilla for DeutschlandRadio on a C. Bechstein concert grand piano D 282 a Liszt program, which appeared in January 2011 on his debut CD for Hänssler Classic. Suitable for Franz Liszt's 200th birthday, the virtuoso played among other things Liszt's B-Minor Sonata, which Hans von Bülow premiered on January 22, 1857, in Berlin on a Carl Bechstein grand piano made available for the occasion. In addition, Zhang Haiou presents "Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d’Este" from "Années de pèlerinage," "Funérailles" from "Harmonies poétiques et religieuses," "St. François d'Assise préchant aux oiseau" from "Deux Légendes" and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 arranged by Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989). Worth hearing!

Haiou Zhang „Fingerprints“

"Fingerprints" is the title of the new CD that Haiou Zhang recorded on a C. Bechstein concert grand D 282 in the Jesus Christ Church in Berlin. The Chinese virtuoso is now presenting the new recording, just released by Hänssler Classic, live in five cities.

My new CD 'Fingerprints' contains compositions from various styles and eras; as different as the works are - they have one thing in common: I associate great, sometimes touching concert experiences with each piece performed," Haiou Zhang explains the concept of his new CD, adding, "I have performed each piece at least 50 times worldwide." These multi-layered concert experiences have now been incorporated into the recordings, bringing the sound images to new life." Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)