George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
Mengla Huang, violin
Wayne Marshall, piano/conductor
Mengla Huang, violin
As one of the most active violinists in the world stage, Mengla Huang occupies a unique position in his native land brimming with astonishing talents. Huang came to international attention after taking first prize at the prestigious Premio Paganini International Violin Competition in Italy in 2002, where he was also awarded with the Renato De Barbieri Memorial Award for the best interpretation of Paganini's Caprices, and the Mario Ruminelli Memorial Award.
As a concert artist, his brilliant technique and unique interpretations have fascinated audiences throughout Asia, Europe and North America. He has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Bamberg, Danish National, Mexico, Norrköping, Singapore, Sendai, NHK, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, the Luxembourg, Nice, Czech, Belgrade, Osaka, Kyoto, Japan, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, and in his native land the China National, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, among many others. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include names such as Neeme Järvi, Jonathan Nott, Long Yu, Mario Venzago, Henrik Schaefer, Muhai Tang, Nicola Luisotti, Edo de Waart, Nikolaj Znaider, Jahja Ling, Jia Lü, Ryusuke Numajiri, Thomas Dausgaard, and Tovey Bramwell.
In April 2007, Huang gave his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center and his Boston debut at the Jordan Hall, and the following year toured both Asia and Italy, debuting at Dvorak Hall during the 63rd Prague Spring Festival in May. He capped the year with an invitation to perform at the grand opening gala of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
The 2009/10 Season saw further debuts and honours, including a featured performance at the ‘Paganini Festival’ in Taiwan, engagements with the Hamburger Symphoniker, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Macao Orchestra, a Japan tour with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and a China tour with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.
At the beginning of 2011, he initiated cooperation with the renowned Dresden Staatskapelle and toured together in China and Germany. Then his tour with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra was marked as the prelude of 2011/12 season. In March 2012, he received great success after the Mexican tour with Maxico National Symphony Orchestra, and the following July he performed with Dresden Staatskapelle again in Germany.
In 2013 he toured with the renowned Württemberg Chamber Orchestra and Prague Chamber Orchestra in China with applauds from the critics and audiences. The year followed by a series concerts in Japan and Italy.
Born after 1980s in Shanghai, Mengla Huang passed his educational years with three great violinists in three most prestigious musical institutions and achieved his degrees separately, these names include Prof. Lina Yu from Shanghai Musical Conservatory; Prof. György Pauk from Royal Academy of Music,UK; and Prof. Thomas Brandis from Musikhochschule Lübeck, Germany.
In addition to the Paganini prizes, Huang was awarded the Gold Medal and Public Prize in the 2001 Sendai International Music Competition in Japan; Best Performance Prize in the 2001 Shanghai Spring International Festival, and the Second Prize in the 2000 Lipinsky and Wieniawsky International Violin Competition in Poland. In 2007, he received the first Montegrappa’s Genio Creativo Award, an annual international award for young talented artists who represent creativity and innovation in different fields of art from different countries. In the same year he also received a series of awards from Royal Academy of Music Foundation and Ricci Foundation. In 2009, he was invited to take the position as the Young Artist in Residence of Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Education Ambassador in Residence of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mengla Huang is a recording artist of Universal Music. 2005 saw his debut album Violin Showpieces on Deutsche Grammophon. His second recital album also released on Deutsche Grammophon, a collection of works written by violinist-composers titled Violinissimo, was released in 2008. His latest recording project was the 24 caprices by Paganini, which was released in 2011. He is the first Chinese violinest who records for DG exclusively.
Wayne Marshall, piano/conductor
From Cradle to the Stave
Wayne’s relationship with music began at an early age. By the age of three, he had already familiarised himself with the piano, and only began to take formal lessons a few years later.
From student to Maestro
Wayne was a student at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester from 1971 to 1979. He won a Foundation scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, which was combined with the post of Organ Scholar at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and was a Post Graduate student at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna from 1983-84.
Finding a Voice
Wayne’s musical forays led him to experiment in multiple genres, including church music and jazz, but quickly found his professional voice as an organ/piano recitalist. His first recorded work goes as far back as 1990, recorded at the organ of Coventry Cathedral, for EMI.
Waving the Baton
This was also the time in which Wayne began to find his footing as a conductor, a path that would see him working with some of the world’s most accomplished orchestras. Wayne feels at home on the podium directing and conducting as well as being a soloist. He is a man with two gifts and one legacy.
Living in Fortissimo
Wayne’s concert diary has been quite full over many years. Some of the most noteworthy opera conducting achievements include Washington, Dallas, Montreal, Paris, (Opéra Comique) Rome and Dresden Semperoper.
Further guest conducting appearances in 2016 included performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Taipei Symphony and the Malaysian Philharmonic, and he also gave a solo performance at the BBC’s Ten Pieces Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He has performed many times at the BBC Proms in previous years, and was a co-presenter for the Barenboim Prom in 2014.
Recognition for Good Conduct
Wayne’s merits have not gone unrecognised. He was the BBC Music Magazine’s Artist of the Year in 1998. In 2004, Wayne received an Honorary Doctorate from Bournemouth University, and in 2010 became a Fellow of the Royal College of Music. 2016 proved to be another significant year for Wayne, as he received the prestigious Golden Jubilee Award in commemoration of his services to music.
Echoing Similar Sentiments
As a recording artist, one of Wayne’s most notable achievements was receiving an ECHO (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis) award for his Gershwin Songbook piano album.
A Marshall that Never Rests
Wayne has never been one to rest on his laurels, and the busy schedule that lies ahead is proof of this. Wayne’s calendar is brimming, particularly his work with the WDR. Other performances on the horizon are with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Czech Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony orchestras.
An Einstein on Bernstein
One of Wayne’s most anticipated projects is conducting the Orchestre de Paris in 2018, in a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. Interpreting the music of Bernstein is considered to be one of Wayne’s biggest strengths, and so this performance will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Further Ventures across the World
In addition to his engagements as a conductor, Wayne will still be travelling the world as a concert organist, with performances at the Moscow House of Music, Lotte Hall in South Korea and the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
