Sixteen-year-old pianist Shan Liu will make his New Zealand Symphony Orchestra solo debut in Wellington this month.
The Year 12 student will perform Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the NZSO’s Let There Be Light concert at the Michael Fowler Centre on Friday, 24 July.
Liu will join renowned Spanish conductor Jaime Martín for a programme that also includes Kaija Saariaho’s Lumière et Pesanteur and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.
A former NZSO Emerging Artist, Liu also appeared as a featured soloist with the 2024 NZSO National Youth Orchestra.
Last year, he became the youngest winner in the 57-year history of the National Concerto Competition in Christchurch.
The NZSO said his mainstage solo debut marked a major step for one of New Zealand’s most promising young classical musicians.
Martín last conducted the NZSO in 2018. He is chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
He previously worked internationally as a flautist before moving into conducting full-time in 2013.
Let There Be Light will be performed at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Friday, 24 July, from 6.30pm.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/tickets/let-there-be-light-wellington
