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As Artist-in-Residence at the International Music Festival Buxtehude 4th Edition, Haiou Zhang has offered a giant programme in this summer: Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, Chausson's Concerto in D and Dvorak's piano quintet A Major with the Faust Quatet, Violin and Oboe recitals with Christoph Seybold and Maria Sournatchev, five late Lieder from Mahler and a full-set of piano recital program. The festival earned enormously success from both press and audience. The 5th Edition is going to take place from 17 to 27 July 2014.

The upcoming concerts of Haiou Zhang including prestiges venues in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Vienna and with special mention to his lecture about Franz Liszt at the Arts Library in NCPA Beijing. For details please follow Agenda and his Facebook page. 

 Artwork@Sabina Przybyla 

Haiou Zhang gives two bang-up performances on 16 June at the Festival Oettinger Schlosskonzerte with Russian Chamber Philharmonic St. Petersburg under Juri Gilbo, Mozart's piano concerto KV414, oberserved by Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung as:

'' His special expressiveness made ​​clear that the 29-year-old Haiou Zhang is about to catch up with the great pianists of our time. If in his case the idol-like worship of a Lang Lang is missing, one senses that the combination of musical empathy with absolutely excellent playing technique made his appearance a godsend for the Oettinger Palace Concerts. If Mozart's piano concertos do not always reach the depths of Beethoven or other famous romantic piano composers, there is the genius of his piano compositions which, above all, achieve their own kind of "simplicity" by means of their great technical brilliance and an unsurpassed richness of melody. For both these qualities the Chinese pianist Zhang Haiou provided a prime example.''

30 June, Mozart's piano concerto KV415 with the ''viennese classic specialist'' Heidelberg Symphony under the baton of Thomas Fey, Debut at the Open Air concert of the prestiges international music festival Weilburger Schlosskonzerte received press acclaims and waves from the audience. The Frankfurter Neue Presse: ''Glänzende Triller, perlende Figurenketten bot blitzsauber Haiou Zhang. Technisch meisterte er seine Aufgabe souverän...elegantes graziles Musizieren...Schön beseelt gelangen Zhang indes die überraschenden Adagio-Einschübe des Rondos. Freien Lauf ließ er seiner Spielfreude bei seinen beiden Zugaben, einem bezaubernd stimmungsvollen Chopin-Nocturne und dem morbiden Rausch der Valse Maurice Ravels.''

Haiou Zhang enjoys the success at the prestiges Regentenbau in Bad Kissingen, Germany: Liszt's piano concerto E-flat major with the ECHO-Klassik winning orchestra Philharmonie Festiva under the baton of Gerd Schaller at the festival Ebracher Musiksommer . Around one thousand concertgoers dedicated him minutes long applaus and he thanked the cheerful audience with Ravel's most fabulous original orchestral work La Valse transcipted by compser himself for solo piano.

''Haiou Zhang is one of the most successful pianists of his generation. His extensive concert performances have led him to appear all over the world. With the the piano concerto No. 1 in E Flat major by Franz Liszt, he simply provided the icing on the cake. With virtuosity and unparalleled in his playing, he captivated his audience by means of his youthful freshness and exceptional ability. A brilliant concert where all those who love romantic music were rewarded - including shivers down the spine. .'' - The MAIN POST

* Photograph: Peter Klopf 

''Haiou Zhang, who turns 29 this year, has a right to envy other, more famous Chinese virtuosos, for their luck at least. He is as technically gifted as any of them, to judge by his effortless power and command in the Liszt B minor Sonata. This work seems to be a benchmark for young Chinese phenoms (i'ts been recorded by Yuja Wang and Yundi), and Zhang plays it with convincing musical instincts for every shifting mood. His reading sounds magnificent on a huge Bechstein.'' - Amazon.com, 4Stars

After the major press acclaim of the Liszt disc from 2011, Haiou Zhang's Liszt recital in Canada received more than possive feedbacks: ''to call him brilliant would be an insult. He was the finest pianist I have ever had the good fortune to hear - it truly was an experience no one who attended will ever forget!" Michael Grit - General Manager, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Canada. 

The Toronto concert with Mozart's piano concerto KV466, Toronto Concerto Orchestra under the baton of Kerry Stratton, earned standing ovation from a big amount of young generation music lovers. Liona Boyd, Internationally renowned classical guitarist was personally there and confirmed this exciting moment: ''The soloist, 27 year old Chinese piano virtuoso Haiou Zhang, completely knocked me out with his playing... it was exhilarating to feel part of the music and never in my life have I been more impressed by a pianist…No wonder he’s taken the world by storm.''

Back to Germany, Haiou Zhang continued the ''Mozart-Fever'' in Münster. Thank to over a thousand concert audience, he returned stage with the remarkable ''Soiree de Vienne'' on a theme of Fledermaus and leads the concert goers to a big Triumph. Minutes long standing ovation followed. Local newspaper Westfälische Nachrichten oberserved: ''Am Ende war der Siedepunkt erreicht, der Beifall im Großen Haus des Theaters glich dem Ausbruch eines Vulkans. Haiou Zhang wurde gefeiert wie ein Star, und das völlig zu Recht. Denn mit seiner ersten Zugabe, den atemberaubenden „Souvenirs de Vienne“ von Alfred Grünfeld über Walzermotive aus Johann Strauß’ „Fledermaus“, riss er die Zuhörer geradezu von den Sitzen. Kein lichtscheues Flattertier saß da am Flügel, sondern ein echter Tastenlöwe mit ausgeprägtem Selbstbewusstsein – und gefühlten zwanzig Fingern.'' The Ruhr Nachrichten's comments on his Mozart interpretation: ''Haiou Zhang forcierte in Mozarts Klavierkonzert d-Moll folgerichtig dramatische Wucht und klare Linien. Eine Interpretation, die den atemlosen Elan dieser Musik, ihre süße Ausweglosigkeit und den haltlosen Drive ideal verkörperte. Zhang ließ in der Schönheit der Musik auch deren subversive Tragik hörbar werden. Begeisterter Beifall.''

Heidelberg - Beethoven's piano concerto C major No.1, a very challenging concerto full of vitality and ambition. A large number of audience gave Haiou Zhang's interpretation extremely enthusiastic applaus. A quote from local newspaper Mannheimer Morgen: ''Der junge chinesische Pianist Haiou Zhang, ist als Flügel-Mann zweifellos ein aufgehender Star, den Thomas Fey rechtzeitig an sich gebunden hat. Mit Beethovens erstem Klavierkonzert in C-Dur (op. 15) führt Zhang eine Pianistik vor, in der sich Eleganz und Tiefe, perlende Leichtigkeit und hochgespannte Wachheit die Hände geben. Unverbraucht, ja neu, wirkt die Wiedergabe, und das Publikum ist zu Recht begeistert.''   ''Der Solist im 1. Beethoven Klavierkonzert, Haiou Zhang, setzte dem robusten Beethoven-Klang des Orchesters filigrane Leichtigkeit im Ton entgegen und hob das Werk so differenziert zwischen noch beinah höfischen und bürgerlich-revolutionären Stil. Der Jakobiner Beethoven rückt sich seinen Hut erst noch zurecht!''  Rhein-Nackar-Zeitung observed.