International Piano: Front Cover Feature: Bringing Imagery and Character to Liszt
Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination.
International Piano
Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: For up-and-coming musicians, putting in work means starting at the top
Increasingly, young artists like Haochen Zhang, Yuja Wang, Stewart Goodyear, and James Ehnes take on heavy-weight repertoire they are often advised to save for middle age — or older.
Complete Beethoven piano concerto recordings just don’t just arrive out of thin air. But so it may seem in the just-released set — Nos. 1-5— by pianist Haochen Zhang and the Philadelphia Orchestra under principal guest conductor Nathalie Stutzmann.
All five concertos were recorded over three days at the Kimmel Center after only one two-hour rehearsal session.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By David Patrick Stearns
Increasingly, young artists like Haochen Zhang, Yuja Wang, Stewart Goodyear, and James Ehnes take on heavy-weight repertoire they are often advised to save for middle age — or older.
Complete Beethoven piano concerto recordings just don’t just arrive out of thin air. But so it may seem in the just-released set — Nos. 1-5— by pianist Haochen Zhang and the Philadelphia Orchestra under principal guest conductor Nathalie Stutzmann.
All five concertos were recorded over three days at the Kimmel Center after only one two-hour rehearsal session.
Any project this big would be typically preceded by concert performances or recorded live. But having been planned before lockdown the ambitious recording session left the Philadelphia-based Zhang “shocked and uncertain but also excited. I know how scarce the opportunity is to record with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and not one, but all five of the Beethoven concertos.”
Read more here.
The New York Times: Long Yu and Haochen Zhang with NY Phil in Concerts to See
The New York Times
David Allen
Our guide to the city’s best classical music and opera happening this weekend and in the week ahead.
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall (Jan. 28 and 30, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 31, 11 a.m.). Ring in the Lunar New Year with the Philharmonic’s annual celebration on Tuesday, with Long Yu conducting a program that includes Gil Shaham as the soloist in Chen Gang and He Zhanhao’s “The Butterfly Lovers” and Haochen Zhang at the piano in Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
To read more, click here.
Blogcritics: Pianist Haochen Zhang on NYC Lunar New Year Concert
Blogcritics
Jon Sobel
The New York Philharmonic will present a Lunar New Year concert at Lincoln Center on January 28, 2020. Conducted by Long Yu, the program will include pieces by Chinese and Chinese-American composers, but also music by South Korean composer Texu Kim – and by George Gershwin. In his debut with the New York Philharmonic, Chinese-American pianist Haochen Zhang will be the featured soloist on Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Blogcritics
Jon Sobel
The New York Philharmonic will present a Lunar New Year concert at Lincoln Center on January 28, 2020. Conducted by Long Yu, the program will include pieces by Chinese and Chinese-American composers, but also music by South Korean composer Texu Kim – and by George Gershwin. In his debut with the New York Philharmonic, Chinese-American pianist Haochen Zhang will be the featured soloist on Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Haochen spoke with us in advance of the Lunar New Year concert.
There’s no mention of Gershwin on your website or, for that matter, your Wikipedia page. Have you performed Gershwin before? You’ve described your style as somewhat introverted, but Rhapsody is splashy music. Does this piece, with its jazziness, speak to you differently than that of other composers?
I have performed the Rhapsody only once before. It’s true that this piece is not in any way “introverted”; however, I don’t believe “splashiness” is the only way to interpret it, either. The organicity and spontaneity in its jazziness is, to me, the core of its beauty and charm, and therefore, as someone who is always fascinated by intricate nuances, this piece always speaks to me in a very instinctive way.
To read the complete interview, click here.
WRTI 90.1: Pianist Haochen Zhang Plays Schumann, Brahms, and More!
WRTI 90.1
Susan Lewis
Haochen Zhang visited the WRTI 90.1 Performance Studio ahead of his return engagement as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He played some of his favorite recital pieces before his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with The Philadelphians. To read his comments on the program and watch the full performance, click here.
Minnesota Public Radio: Pianist Haochen Zhang offers a fresh take on Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev
Chinese American pianist Haochen Zhang became a gold medalist and a first prize winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At age 19, he was one of the youngest winners in the competition. Ten years later, Haochen has just released his second recording. It features Tchaikovsky's powerful Piano Concerto No. 1 and the work he performed in the final round of the Cliburn Competition: Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
Minnesota Public Radio
Julie Amacher
Haochen Zhang — Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 / Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 (BIS)
Chinese American pianist Haochen Zhang became a gold medalist and a first prize winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At age 19, he was one of the youngest winners in the competition. Ten years later, Haochen has just released his second recording. It features Tchaikovsky's powerful Piano Concerto No. 1 and the work he performed in the final round of the Cliburn Competition: Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
"This is exactly 10 years after 2009, when I won the Cliburn. There's a personal feeling to this piece that I've been performing ever since.
"It's known for being the most technically challenging piano concerto, with the crazy cadenza in the first movement and nerve-racking second movement, and so forth.
Listen to Haochen’s interview with Julie Amacher here.
Gramophone: The Listening Room – Haochen Zhang
A terrific new recording of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto comes from 2009 Van Cliburn Competition winner Haochen Zhang - quite a feather in BIS’s cap as they’ve also this year's Tchaikovsky Competition winner Alexandre Kantorow on their books.
Gramophone
James Jolly
A terrific new recording of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto comes from 2009 Van Cliburn Competition winner Haochen Zhang - quite a feather in BIS’s cap as they’ve also this year's Tchaikovsky Competition winner Alexandre Kantorow on their books.
Read more here.
New York Arts: Haochen Zhang at Carnegie Hall
It is clear that Haochen Zhang is a musician of extraordinary technical mastery and perception. Born in 1990, he is a graduate of the Curtis School of Music, where he studied under Gary Graffman, and winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—no mean credentials!
New York Arts
Michael Miller
Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall
Saturday, November 18, 2017 7:30 PM
Haochen Zhang, Piano
Schumann – Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
Liszt – Transcendental Etude No. 5 in B-flat Major, “Feux follets”
Liszt – Trancendental Etude No. 12 in B-flat Minor, “Chasse neige”
Janáček – In the Mists
Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
I hesitate to review Haochen Zhang‘s impressive recital, because a previous commitment made it possible to hear only the second half. Even that, however, made it clear that he is a musician of extraordinary technical mastery and perception. Born in 1990, he is a graduate of the Curtis School of Music, where he studied under Gary Graffman, and winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—no mean credentials! He is already regarded as something of a hero in China—or, should I say, superstar—as a packed Zankel Hall attested: there were numerous contingents of Chinese families bringing children to inspire them and countless young Chinese women. I have never seen a performer, male or female, accoladed with so many bouquets. I should mention one bit of local color before moving on to the music, which was a teenager explaining to his younger brother (10 or so) about the Well-Tempered Clavier. Where else would one overhear an interchange like this between two young brothers?
In any case Haochen Zhang’s Liszt proved both musical and highly virtuosic. The grand fortissimi were powerful and the more introverted moments properly subdued. Even at the loudest bars, he maintained a warm, pleasing tone. Zhang’s approach to texture is selective. He blurs arpeggi with ample pedal, but at the same time he makes particular lines he wishes to emphasize stand out clearly. He is less interested in overall detail and clarity—a technique which should stand him in good stead when he plays in larger halls than Zankel.
One blessing this program offered was an opportunity to hear Janáček’s In the Mists complete. Mr. Zhang’s basic sound is large, but within this he was able to explore the more intimate aspects of these highly personal expressions. The composer’s tempi are largely slow: Andante-Molto Adagio-Andante, concluded by a Presto, which is a true presto only for a few moments. Each movement begins with a distinct tune of a melancholy bent, suggestive of Czech folk-music, which slips into either more rhapsodic, more passionate, or even pained excursions. Following the melodies is the essence of this work. This was a committed performance which visited many corners of Janáček’s tonal and dynamic palette, if there was anything to criticize, it might be that Mr. Zhang made the pieces seem more virtuosic than they actually are, and the music became rather too busy for us to enter into its melodic and poetic dimensions.
Mr. Zhang closed the program with Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7, a bright, virtuosic work, which enabled him to go out in a blaze of technical display, but not without musical substance. The first movement is troubled and dramatic, the second more intimate and lyrical.
One felicitous gambit of Mr. Zhang’s appeared in several of the more intimate sections. He likes to slow the tempo slightly and holds to a steady meter and appropriate pianissimo. This reminded me of a similar approach which Alfred Brendel favored, when he was playing. However, as Zhang handled them, these passages sounded all the same. The mood, texture, and color seemed imposed like a method rather than like an expression that emerged organically from the music that preceded it. Perhaps this is a reminder that Haochen Zhang is only twenty-seven, something we are like to forget, given the general maturity of his playing. We can look forward to many years of outstanding playing and musical development ahead.
After the concert Mr. Zhang, surrounded six deep by his young countrywomen, signed copies of his latest CD on the BIS label. This includes Schumann’s Kinderszenen, which he played in the recital (before my arrival, unfortunately!), Liszt’s second Ballade, Janáček’s Sonata “From the Streets”, and Brahms’ Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. As we await Haochen Zhang’s return to New York, we can enjoy his playing on this excellent disc.
Primephonic: The Early Life of a Pianist - An Interview with Haochen Zhang Part 2
Haochen talks to Primephonic about growing up in China, the contrast in approach between the Chinese and American music conservatoires, and his strongest influences.
After his Carnegie Hall performance, where pianist Haochen Zhang stepped in for Lang Lang who had withdrawn for health reasons, Haochen and I met at Knave to talk about his career as a pianist, inspirations in music, and his debut studio recording featuring works by Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms.
Primephonic
Jennifer Harrington
Haochen talks to Primephonic about growing up in China, the contrast in approach between the Chinese and American music conservatoires, and his strongest influences.
After his Carnegie Hall performance, where pianist Haochen Zhang stepped in for Lang Lang who had withdrawn for health reasons, Haochen and I met at Knave to talk about his career as a pianist, inspirations in music, and his debut studio recording featuring works by Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms.
How did you begin to play piano?
Where I grew up, my mom was one of the few people who listened to classical music and played it basically for me in her womb, this kind of “pre-birth education.” She never had an idea of introducing me to an instrument until she was taking English classes and as a part of her homework she had to read the American magazine, Reader’s Digest, every week. One week, when I was 4, there was one article that said piano was one of the best ways to raise a baby’s intelligence, and that really caught her imagination. It talked about how piano trains both your hands equally and both sides of your fingers move in the same kind of frequency.
Back in China then we were under the one-child policy. Intelligence was very important – it’s the future of your family. Since we were playing classical music all the time she thought ‘why not let him study piano’. I was always running around by myself so my mom thought it could be a way of communicating with an abstract thing and maybe piano can do that. So that’s how I started.
What was it like growing up in Shanghai? Are the music education and musical career expectations much different there than in the USA?
I was 14 when I auditioned for the Curtis Institute and moved [to the U.S.] when I was 15. In China it’s more systematic – the teachers I studied with are wonderful teachers but they are into details. They give you a very specific direction: what is right and not right. This Chinese way gives me a certain work ethic and discipline which is absolutely crucial because you need to be self-critical. It’s often mentioned in music you need two ears; one ear is enjoying the other is criticizing. Otherwise you can’t improve. In the States it’s an opening-up process. I still criticize myself in my own way but not in the teachers’ expectation. I am fortunate to have benefited from both.
Who inspired you from your time studying at the Curtis Institute?
My teacher Gary Graffman is a world-renowned pianist. He became a pedagogue and the director of Curtis. I’ve always looked up to him. The way he taught me and other students was very unique in that he didn’t force his own opinions on his students. There’s always this systematic approach in every successful teacher. How to make sound, technique, style and somehow Mr. Graffman avoided doing that. If you see other teachers and their students, you find that you can guess whose student it is. All students of the same teacher somehow have the same system, the way they produce sound or techniques or phrase, but in Mr. Graffman’s case, all his students are vastly different. This way really allows students to open themselves up and dig into their own personalities rather than copying the teacher or emulating them. The way I was able to develop a sense of self-awareness – who am I as an artist – I think that is very fortunate.
Are there artists that you look up to?
My favorite living pianists are Radu Lupu, who also won the Van Cliburn award, and Murray Perahia. Among the dead pianists would be Rachmaninov and the French pianist Alfred Cortot. They were part of the recording era when it started to become popular in the market. They played in a much different way that is lost in this generation, but I find something precious in that era that is very romantic and almost indulgent but not cliché.
Do you have any memorable performances?
I vividly remember playing with the Munich Philharmonic, one of my favorite orchestras, and I played with them Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, a cornerstone piece of the late classical, early romantic eras. Munich Philharmonic is one of the most authentic German orchestras, and playing Beethoven’s 4th concerto is a really memorable experience for me. The conductor was Lorin Maazel. I played with him shortly before he died. His easy technique was so precise and the sound of the orchestra was so unique, so round, and so full. They played in a way that is seldom found in this authenticity.
Oh, and with the London Symphony Orchestra, playing the same Yellow River Piano Concerto one of the few times they performed it. British orchestras are playing so many concerts with not much time to prepare and are working like crazy. The end result was really beyond my expectations. The dedication they put into the performance was really inspiring.
Can you describe that difference, playing the Yellow River Concerto with the LSO and then NCPA?
Being a Western orchestra, you view the piece as you first learn it, which offers me an objective vision if we sort of block the original cultural heritage in China. With Chinese orchestras they know the piece inside out. Many of the older players lived through that period so there is a lot of feeling to it and of course, in terms of authenticity, playing with a Chinese orchestra provides that. However a foreign orchestra offers a fresh perspective.
Is there anyone who you hope to play with in the future?
In the future, I think it’s everyone’s dream to play with the Berlin Philharmonic. But there are also many amazing orchestras I look forward to playing with.
So, I’m sure you’ve got a full and exciting schedule ahead. What performance projects do you have in the upcoming year?
I’m certainly looking forward to the New York recital debut in Zankel at Carnegie Hall. I’ve never played my recital in New York City. It’s the arts center of America. I’ve always wanted to come here and play and it’s really exciting for me that I can play my recital here for the first time.
Image credit: Benjamin Ealovega
Primephonic: Owning the Music - An Interview with Haochen Zhang Part I
The morning after his Carnegie Hall performance, where pianist Haochen Zhang stepped in for Lang Lang who had withdrawn for health reasons, Haochen and I met at Knave to talk about his career as a pianist, inspirations in music, and his debut studio recording featuring works by Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms.
Primephonic
Jennifer Harrington
The morning after his Carnegie Hall performance, where pianist Haochen Zhang stepped in for Lang Lang who had withdrawn for health reasons, Haochen and I met at Knave to talk about his career as a pianist, inspirations in music, and his debut studio recording featuring works by Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms.
You just performed at Carnegie Hall filling in for Lang Lang. How was the performance?
I played the Yellow River Piano Concerto with the China NCPA Orchestra. The concerto is a cornerstone of Chinese music. It was a refreshing night; the concerto is new in the West so it feels different to perform it in front of this audience. In China, eating Chinese food feels like air, where you are not aware of its existence, but in America it’s like eating your first ever Chinese meal, where you’re acutely aware of the experience and feeling how the audience responds makes any performance exciting.
This has been a fruitful year for you, having won the Avery Fisher Career Grant and your solo album (on BIS) was released this year. Tell me a bit about this positive string of events.
The Avery Fisher is a very encouraging thing for me. It’s a prestige award. Unlike other awards where they give you engagements or performances, it’s the prize by itself (and some cash), and it’s only given to young musicians. Studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, a lot of faculty members and renowned musicians started their careers winning the Avery Fisher award. I’m honored to be in this line of heritage and continuity. In a way it gives me more responsibility, knowing that the previous recipients are musicians such as Gil Shaham and Hilary Hahn.
You have won several really impressive competitions, such as the Thirteenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition back in 2009. This must have been a career-changing experience: following this you were propelled onto the world’s most prestigious concert stages. How has your career developed since that time?
I hope I’ve matured, since it was 8 years ago. I’ve been performing a lot of concerts which is a way of maturing yourself. It’s different from practicing yourself. A concert is a different way of learning. And with traveling the world you see different kinds of audiences, where you find cultural differences and most importantly, the solitude you have to overcome on the road by yourself, meeting new people every day. You’re not in a settled community so you have to overcome this to mature yourself. I feel I’ve overcome this. Not only has travel become part of a part of my job, it’s no longer my job. It’s the journey of a musician.
Going back to your album of solo piano works by Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms, released in February: what inspired you to record this particular repertoire? What was the highlight of creating this album?
At BIS (record label) it’s more about what artistic statement you can make, and in terms of audio quality, most labels choose the standard but BIS is particular because they keep the highest quality by using SACD (Super Audio CD), and they believe in good quality of sound. They also let me choose whatever repertoire I want to play, so I really appreciate BIS.
What do you feel your artistic statement was?
With Schumann, Liszt, Janácek and Brahms, they’re all introspective in different ways. They share this reflective quality which I thought is really precious. Young pianists in my generation are more inclined to play (and the audience is more familiar with hearing) virtuosic pieces. I want to show another side of a young pianist. It feels natural to me. I’ve always been a somewhat introverted person. Growing up in China, which is a culture of inward-looking perspectives, I have this personality and was always drawn to music that has an introspective and reflective quality. You feel like your soul is being cleaned. I wanted to make my first studio recording about who I am and what statement I want to make as an artist.
What repertoire do you hope to explore in your recordings and performances?
I’ve always been a curious person, so I’m looking to explore all kinds of different styles. It interests me more when there are pieces that have an insight into something deeper or are inward-looking, with incredible emotional and intellectual depth. I’m certainly interested in digging into Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert; and I’m always a Brahms fan and hope to record more late Brahms.
Is there a piece you love to play or that you feel you ‘own’?
That always changes and that’s the beautiful thing about music. There are pieces that you didn’t like two years ago but now you’re falling in love with. There are pieces you regard as something holy or untouchable but now they are more tangible and you’ve pulled the piece from that status to somewhere where you can look at it. And there are pieces you always like and they stay the same for 20 years. In terms of composers, I never found myself having one favorite composer but it always switches through those four.
In terms of owning a piece, the more you play it, the more you feel like you own it. The process of owning it goes with the amount of performances. It’s the physical and spiritual combining together. You feel like your fingers are literally your spirit – what I think, and what I execute, and how people respond to it. That one moment you feel like you are the music and the music is you. That is the most rewarding feeling as a musician.
