Cello

Jian Wang

© Xu Bin

Introduction

While a student at the Shanghai Conservatoire Jian Wang was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. Mr Stern’s encouragement and support paved the way for him to go to the United States and in 1985 he entered the Yale School of Music.

Recent and future highlights include concerts with the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonic, Boston, Philharmonia, BBC Scottish, Toronto, Melbourne and Singapore Symphony Orchestras, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.

Jian has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, NDR Hamburg, Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and NHK Symphony. Amongst his many high-profile concerts in China, he has played for the President and opened the season for the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Macau Symphony Orchestras. He has also played with the China National Orchestra, Hangzhou Symphony and performed the complete Bach Cello Suites in Beijing.

He has an extensive discography with DGG, including the Bach Cello Suites and the Brahms Double Concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado and Gil Shaham and chamber music with Maria João Pires and Augustin Dumay. His instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Mr. Sau-Wing Lam.

Contact

Alison Nethsingha  
Senior Artist Manager
Alice Wright  
Assistant Artist Manager

Worldwide Management: Askonas Holt

Italy: Cesare Venturi Music Management email Cesare Venturi
Japan: Aspen Incorporated email Mitsutoshi Katoh

 



Performance Schedule

 
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    19:30 06 May 2020 Musikverein Vienna, VIENNA

    WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Piano Trio in C major K. 548
    ANTONIN DVORAK Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor Op. 90 ‘Dumky’
    Interval
    GUSTAV MAHLER Piano Quartet in A minor
    JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor Op. 25

    Piano: Itamar Golan
    Violin/Viola: Julian Rachlin
    Violin/Viola: Sarah McElravy

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    20:00 29 May 2020 Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, KANSAS CITY

    ZHOU TIAN Cello Concerto ‘Flowing Sleeves’

    Conductor: Michael Stern
    Orchestra: Kansas City Symphony

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    20:00 30 May 2020 Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, KANSAS CITY

    ZHOU TIAN Cello Concerto ‘Flowing Sleeves’

    Conductor: Michael Stern
    Orchestra: Kansas City Symphony

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    14:00 31 May 2020 Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, KANSAS CITY

    ZHOU TIAN Cello Concerto ‘Flowing Sleeves’

    Conductor: Michael Stern
    Orchestra: Kansas City Symphony

Discography

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    ELGAR Cello Concerto

    Label: ABC Classics

    Release Date: 07 Jun 11

    Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy
    Sydney Symphony Orchestra

    Recorded live at Sydney Opera House, 2008

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    Reverie

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 03 May 07

    Short pieces for cello and guitar
    Guitar: Göran Söllscher

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    BACH The Cello Suites

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 02 Mar 05

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    The Baroque Album

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 10 Jun 03

    BOCCHERINI Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No. 9 in B-flat major
    COUPERIN Pièces en concert
    FRESCOBALDI Toccata
    MONN Concerto for Violoncello, Strings and Harpsichord in G minor

    Camerata Salzburg

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    BRAHMS Double Concerto

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 06 May 02

    Violin: Gil Shaham
    Conductor: Claudio Abbado
    Berliner Philharmoniker

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    HAYDN Cello Concertos

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 21 Jul 99

    Concerto in C major Hob V11b:1
    Concerto in D major Hob V11b:2

    Conductor: Muhai Tang
    Gulbenkian Orchestra

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    MOZART Piano Trios

    Label: Deutsche Grammophon

    Release Date: 04 May 97

    Piano Trio in B-flat major K. 502
    Piano Trio in G major K. 496
    Divertimento in B flat major K. 254

    Vilon: Augustin Dumay
    Piano: Maria Joao Pires

Press

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    25 Aug 19 Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
    Hamer Hall

    “Wang’s Saint-Saëns… is luminous and translucent. Wang’s interpretation was lyrical, ebbing and flowing with the concerto’s rises and falls. He has impeccable technique and a rich tone…”

    ★★★★

    Ben Wilkie, Limelight Magazine, 25 August 2019

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    15 Aug 19 ZHOU TIAN Cello Concerto 'Flowing Sleeves' Singapore Symphony Orchestra
    Esplanade Concert Hall

    “Wang is a compelling advocate of the work and his performance shone with an almost mystical intensity.”

    Marc Rochester, The Straits Times, 17 August 2019

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    05 May 17 DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto Singapore Symphony Orchestra
    Esplanade Concert Hall

    “…his gorgeously hewn tone – fully voiced, plain-speaking, yet so filled with vitality – made for another memorable performance”
    Chang Tou Liang, The Straits Times, 8 May 2017

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    04 Apr 16 HAYDN Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Hong Kong Philharmonic
    Hong Kong Cultural Centre

    “Cellist Jian Wang seemed to win the hearts of the audience as he dug into Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C. Although Haydn’s music is modestly conceived, he can penetrate dark psychological realms, and this performance captured that element. Wang differentiated the ranges of the cello with rare poetry, with a gruff, earthy bass, a bold, ringing tenor and a fluting soprano.”
    Alexis Alrich, South China Morning Post, 4 April 2016

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    12 Nov 15 SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1 Hallé
    Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

    “Following this was Saint-Saen’s ‘Cello Concerto No.1’ featuring the solo cello of Jian Wang. Wang’s presence was immediately felt, despite his small stature, with amazingly intricate, technically expert playing. This initial surprise was then surpassed with the depth of feeling in the second subject, showcasing Wang’s true range, from melodically animated to emotionally resonant. This continued on into Dvorak’s ‘Silent Woods,’ which served as another showcase of Jian Wang’s expert solo playing, and Nicholas Collon’s control over the orchestra with a constantly appropriate balance.”
    Matthew Brew, The Mancunion, 23 November 2015

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    19 Feb 15 TCHAIKOVSKY Roccoco Variations Los Angeles Philharmonic/Xian Zhang

    “Jian probed deeply. He did not romanticize Tchaikovsky [Roccoco Variations], yet he was not cool either. He has handsome tone, and his focus was on a richness of sound that drew you into not the cello but Tchaikovsky.”
    Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 20 February 2015

    “Cellist Jian Wang tackled the Tchaikovsky in the program, Variations on a Rococo Theme, with expert balance and a deeply warm tone.”
    The Examiner, 23 February 2015

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    07 Dec 14 DVORAK Cello Concerto Bangkok Symphony Orchestra/Hubert Soudant

    ” … on this occasion he transfixed the audience with the mesmerising clarity of his playing, giving a fully absorbing account and rising effortlessly to all the technically demanding passage work…Wang explored the subtleties of the exquisite rubato material with an increasing and intoxicating meditative calm.”
    The Bangkok Post, 17 December 2014

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    25 Apr 14 CHEN 'Reflet d'un temps' NDR Hamburg

    “Messiaen’s last student Qigang Chen’s piece ‘Reflet d’un temps’ is almost a cello concerto and circles around an ancient Chinese folk tune, played here by Jian Wang. It sang in a transfiguring way- a highly virtuosic, orchestral silk painting.”
    Hamburger Abendblatt

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    01 Feb 14 TCHAIKOVSKY Rococo Variations New York Philharmonic Orchestra

    “Jian Wang played with an impressive blend of charm, elegance and bravura in Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” for Cello and Orchestra.”
    New York Times, 02 Feb 2014

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    11 Jan 14 DVORAK Cello Concerto San Antonio Symphony Orchestra

    “As outstanding as Wang played throughout the 1895 concerto (Dvorak’s Cello Concerto), his best moment came with the heartbreaking final theme, a personal tribute by Dvorák to the loss of his beloved sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzova.”
    www.mysanantonio.com 11 January 2014

Repertoire

BLOCH Schelomo

BOCCHERINI Concerto No. 9 in B flat major

BRAHMS Concerto for violin and cello Op. 102 in A minor

TAN DUN Crouching Tiger Concerto

DVORAK Concerto for cello and orchestra

ELGAR Concerto for cello and orchestra

FAURE Élégie

HAYDN Concerto in D major

HAYDN Concerto in C major

HERSANT Concerto No. 2  for cello and orchestra

KABALEVSKI Concerto in G minor

LALO Concerto for cello and orchestra

MIASKOVSKY Cello Concerto

MONN Cello Concerto in G minor

PROKOFIEV Sinfonia Concertante

CHEN QIGANG Cello Concerto ‘Reflet d’un temps disparu’

SAINT-SAENS Concerto for cello and orchestra No. 1 in A minor

SAINT-SAENS Poet and Muse Double Concerto

SCHUMANN Concerto for cello and orchestra

SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107

STRAUSS Don Quixote

TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo theme

ZHOU TIAN Cello Concerto (“Flowing Sleeves”) (2018)