Haochen Zhang — Piano

Haochen Zhang (张昊辰) is internationally recognized as one of the leading pianists of his generation. He came to prominence in 2009 when, at just 19 years old, he won the Gold Medal at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming one of the youngest winners in the competition’s history. In 2017 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, further cementing his reputation as an artist of extraordinary talent and promise.

Born in Shanghai in 1990, Mr. Zhang began piano studies at the age of three and a half and made his recital debut at the Shanghai Music Hall at the age of five, performing Haydn and Mozart sonatas as well as all 15 of Bach’s two-part inventions. He made his orchestral debut a year later with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K.467. By twelve, he had become the youngest-ever winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. In 2005, he moved to the United States to study at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman, teacher of Lang Lang and Yuja Wang.

Since his Cliburn victory, Mr. Zhang has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Mariinsky Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He has appeared at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, the Munich Philharmonic with Lorin Maazel, and festivals including Aspen, Gilmore, and the Beijing Music Festival.

Highlights include his New York Philharmonic debut in 2020 at the Lunar New Year Concert with Long Yu, followed by his subscription debut in 2022 under Anna Rakitina. In 2017, he stepped in for Lang Lang in China NCPA’s Carnegie Hall debut under Lü Jia.

Mr. Zhang’s discography includes his 2017 debut album on BIS Records, featuring Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Liszt’s Ballade No. 2, Brahms’s Three Intermezzi, and Janáček’s Piano Sonata 1.X.1905. His artistry has been widely acclaimed for its blend of youthful brilliance and profound musical insight.

He is currently managed by Kanzen Arts and KAJIMOTO.