Liang ZHANG, conductor
Chinese conductor Liang ZHANG is widely recognised as a leading conductor and pianist of his generation, enjoying close partnerships with the finest orchestras around China and beyond. Since 2010 he serves as Chief Conductor of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born in Taizhou of Jiangsu province in China in 1979, Zhang began practicing piano at the age of five and attended the elementary and middle schools affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. At college he majored in piano and composition while already composing a number of pieces for piano and strings. During the middle school years, he collaborated with Japanese violinist Takako Nishizaki in a recital. In 1996, he studied orchestra conducting.
After graduation from Shanghai in 1998, he was admitted to Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with top marks, majoring in conducting and piano with Uros Lajovic, David Lively and J.G. Jiracek. In 2003 he finished postgraduate study in Vienna with distinction.
Apart from conducting, Zhang at that time had already collaborated as an accompanist with Peter Lukas Graf, and played in a number of chamber music concerts which took him to Germany, Austria, France, Mexico, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan of China. In those years, he had recorded a number of albums with outstanding musicians from China.
Zhang is in demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, Wiener Symphoniker, Macao Orchestra, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, China National Opera Orchestra, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, and at festivals in South Korea, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Japan, and Turkey, collaborating with soloists such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Ryu Goto, Sumi Jo, Wolfgang Schulz, Rainer Küchl, Lynn Harrell, Cyprien Katsaris, Fazil Say, Eduardus Halim, Stefan Dohr, Lang Lang, Wang Jian, Shenyang, Lü Siqing, etc.
He is currently Deputy Director and Chief Conductor of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Vice Chair of Shanghai Musicians Association. His recording of Beethoven’s symphony cycle was released in 2020 in both CDs and vinyl by Shanghai Music Publishing House, making him the youngest conductor in China to do so.