CHINA
Aihao Zheng was born on January 24, 1995, and started his studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Middle School. He continued studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston between 2013 and 2019, where he obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Cello Performance under Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser. In 2019, he started studying with Prof. David Geringas in Berlin. Since October 2021, he is studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, with Prof. Natalie Clein.
In 2016, Zheng won 1st prize at the NEC Tecchler-Forster Cello Competition, which provided him with the opportunity to play on a William Forster II 1795 cello. In 2017 he won the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, and in 2018 he was the finalist of the Mika Hasler Competition. He was invited to perform at the Beijing Super Cello Festival as a soloist, and at the 2020 Piatigorsky Cello Festival in Los Angeles as a scholar. In 2021, he won 2nd prize at the Brussels 7th International Music Competition Triomphe de l’Art. Zheng has performed with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Baden-Baden Philharmonie, Geringas Chamber Orchestra.
Zheng took masterclasses from Lluís Claret, Andres Diaz, Gary Hoffman, Pieter Wispelwey, Ralph Kirshbaum, David Geringas, Wolfgang Boettcher, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens Peter Maintz, and Frans Helmerson.
PROGRAM:
Online Round
Piatti Caprice Op. 25 No. 7
Bach Cello Suite No. 3 in C major BWV 1009
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major Hob. VIIb/2
Schumann Fantasiestücke op. 73 (any two pieces)
Debussy Cello Sonata in D minor L. 135
Ligeti Sonata for Solo Cello
Semifinal
Enescu Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major Op. 26
Shostakovich Cello Sonata in D minor Op. 40
Rostropovich Humoresque Op. 5
Final
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat Major Op. 107
