Overview
Biography
One of the most active violinists today, Lu Siqing is the first Asian violinist to win the first prize at the prestigious Paganini International Violin Competition in Italy in 1987. Hailed by Strad as 'an outstanding talent', Siqing is acknowledged one of the most outstanding Chinese violinists of his generation. He has performed to acclaim in more than thirty countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, including concerts at the Musikverein, Vienna; Avery Fisher Hall, 92nd Street Y, New York; Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles; Ford Center, Toronto; Royal Opera House, Wigmore Hall, London; Theatre Des Champs Elysees, Louis XIV Opera House at Palace of Versailles, Paris; Victoria Hall, Geneva; Great Hall, Kremlin Palace, Moscow; Suntory Hall, Tokyo; Seoul Arts Center, Korea; Esplanade, Singapore; Great Hall of People, National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing; Hong Kong Cultural Center, Hong Kong; Taipei Concert Hall.
Lu Siqing has worked with many of the world's leading musicians including Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Edo de Waart, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lawrence Foster, Jaap van Zweden, Osmo Vansk , Yu Long, Lu Jia, Lu Shao-Jia, Bin Jian-Wen and has appeared as featured soloist with such orchestras as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony, Bern Symphony, Stavanger Symphony, Paris Sinforniatta, Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Bowl Orchestra, Washington Symphony, Toronto Camerate, Vancouver Symphony, the Mariinsky Orchestra, Russia National Orchestra, Russia Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Kyushu Symphony, China Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, among others. He also has headlined festival concerts at Ascona, Aspen, Beijing, Bangkok, Curacao, Geneva, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Imperia, Kyushu, Ludwigsburger, Macao, Montreux-Vevey, Nanjing, Qingdao, Ravinia, Savolinna, Seoul, Shanghai, Spain and Taipei.
Lu Siqing has released many CD and video recordings for such labels as Philips, Naxos and Marco Polo, among others. His recording of Sarasate's 'Violin Showpieces' with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra was a huge success. His recording of the Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons' with the Toronto Camerata, in which Siqing played on six exquisite violins by Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesu and Nicolo Amati, received brilliant reviews: 'A+, ------a CD without an equal.' He has made four recordings of the most famous Chinese violin work, 'Butterfly Lovers' violin concerto. His interpretation has been widely considered the best among more than 40 available recordings of this work, and has sold well over a million copies worldwide. Mr. Lu's 1997 release, Traumerei-Romantic Violin Favorites, with pianist Robert Koenig, was awarded CD of the month by All Music Magazine and China Times in Taiwan and was voted among the best 100 CDs of 1997 by Sound Symposium. His performances have been carried on China's national television-CCTV, Radio Canada, Radio Bern, New York's WQXR and Sinovision, Chicago's WFMT, Boston's WGBH, Germany's WDR, Japan's NTV, Hong Kong's Phoenix TV, ATV and many other TV and radio stations throughout China and other parts of the world.
Lu Siqing was born in 1969 in Qingdao, China and began violin study at four. As an eight-year-old, he was accepted by the Central Conservatory of Music as a special student--the youngest student ever accepted at the famed institution--and studied with Prof. Wang Zhenshan. At 11, Lord Yehudi Menuhin chose Siqing to study at his school in London. In 1984 he returned to China for advanced studies at the Conservatory in Beijing, and, five years later, he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang at the Juilliard School. In addition to the Paganini First Prize, Lu Siqing has won numerous international competitions including those in Beijing, England, and the U.S.
