Overview
Biography
Gao Can, Widely recognized as one of the most talented violinists of his generation, Mr. GAO Can enjoys an international career, appearing with major orchestras and at prestigious venues and festivals throughout the world.
In March 2015, Mr. Gao was invited to the closing ceremony at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) to perform in front of 17 national leaders and thousands of political and business leaders from all over the world. On that occasion, he played with the 1727 Stradivarius violin ex-General Dupont, the first Stradivarius violin collected by Mainland Chinese entrepreneur and the only violin to be broadcasted in space by the NASA.
In 2014, Mr. Gao was appointed the ambassador of the renowned Verbier Festival (VFO) and has become the only official ambassador of Chinese nationality. In the same year he was elected the new committee member of the Violin Society of the Chinese Musicians Association. As one of the very symbol of Chinese young musicians, he was included in the "Impression China" series of the China Post, which published a set of personal stamp and postcards entitled “Chinese Cultural Artists”in early 2015.
China Recording Arts Association (CRA) has recently released his latest album “Collection of Live Recordings of Gao Can” in recognition of his accomplishment.
He has collaborated with such masters as cellist Mischa Maisky, violist Yuri Bashmet, and conductor Charles Dutoit, to name a few. Orchestral appearances include the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Teatro di San Carlo Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and China National Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed at notable music festivals such as the Verbier Music Festival, where he served as the concertmaster of the world-class Verbier Festival Orchestra, as well as Germany’s Beethoven Festival, the Salzburg Festival, Attersee Festival, Korea Tongyeong International Festival, Spain’s Festival Internacional de Jazz de Getxo, and Macao International Music Festival. His concert engagements include solo, chamber and concertmaster performing at such prestigious venues as New York’s Lincoln Center, the Berlin Opera House, Sweden’s Royal Concert Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Lyon Opera House, Chicago’s Symphony Centre, Lucerne KKL, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Teatro Comunale diBologna, and so on.
Mr. Gao holds over 35 violin concerts annually, touring around five continents and gaining international acclaim from both audience and critics. Eminent music critic Rosalinda L. Orosa once described Mr. Gao’s performance in Philstar as follows: “I can’t recall any other violinist, within recent memory, matching the superb mastery of Chinese violinist Gao Can. His energetic, forceful bowing producing luminous, shimmering tones, he played the pyrotechnic passages with unequalled intensity, passion and fire, his cadenza burning with ardor.”
Mr. Gao has won numerous prizes and awards including the top violin prize of the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition, the silver medal in the 15th "Alberto Curci" Violin International Competition in Naples, Italy, the Special Recognition Award of theMichael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, and the gold medal in National Violin Competition of China. Since 2009, he has served as the “Oriental Express” Artist by the Chinese Cultural Ministry.
When he’s not performing, Mr. Gao dedicates his time to mentoring the next generation of violinists through teaching, lecturing and giving masterclasses. He was the youngest-ever Associate Professor at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music; from 2007 to 2012, he was also the youngest professor granted foreign-guest teaching status on Cincinnati University’s music faculty. This made him the decade’s only violinist who divided his time between prestigious institutions both in China and the United States. He has held lectures, seminars and workshops at the University of Northern Colorado, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the University of Macau. At Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts alone, he has given nine recitals and five lectures. Mr. Gao plays the 1617 "Lobkowicz" Amati violin sponsored by the Bein & Fushi-Stradivari Society in Chicago.
