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Pianist Haochen Zhang Opens the 2012-13 Pepperdine Recital Series
The 2012-13 Recital Series at the Center for the Arts will begin with a performance by pianist Haochen Zhang, Gold Medalist of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on Sunday, Oct. 7. The performance will begin at 2 p.m. in the Raitt Recital Hall, Malibu.
Zhang will perform Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight") by Beethoven; Carnaval, Op. 9 by Robert Schumann; Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat Major, Op. 22 by Chopin; and Preludes, Book I by Debussy.
Since his victory at the Cliburn Competition, the 22-year-old Chinese pianist has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity.
Zhang continues to cultivate his reputation through major performances and debuts every year. Highlights of his 2011-12 season included return engagements with the San Francisco and Fort Worth symphony orchestras; performances at the Kravis Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Carmel Center for the Performing Arts; and a tour of Japan.
In past seasons, Zhang has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic.
Zhang's Cliburn Competition performances of Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Petrouchka, Chopin's Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 28, Mason Bates' White Lies for Lomax, and Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody were released to critical acclaim by harmonica mundi USA in 2009. He is also featured in Peter Rosen's award-winning documentary chronicling the 2009 Cliburn Competition, A Surprise in Texas, which was sold out within two weeks of release and subsequently re-released. Zhang's complete competition performances are available on: www.cliburn.tv
He continues his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the guidance of Gary Graffman, having 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.
Zhang also writes poetry and improvises pop music. Born in Shanghai, Zhang now makes his home in Philadelphia.
The 2012-13 Pepperdine Recital Series is sponsored by the Kwong family. Performances in the Recital Series feature emerging artists and typically take place in the intimate 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall. Other artists performing in the series this year include Rachel Lee, violin, on Sunday, Nov. 18; Sebastian Baverstam, cello, on Sunday, Feb. 10; and Petrit Ceku, 2012 Parkening International Guitar Competition Gold Medalist, on Sunday, Mar. 3.
Tickets, priced at $25 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787.
For more information, visit the Center for the Arts website.
