Resident of Boston, Ziang Xu is a Doctor of Musical Arts’ candidate at the New England Conservatory. He has given solo piano recitals across the US. From New York to Los Angeles, his performances often feature some of the most challenging compositions in the piano repertory, such as Bach’s French Overture, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier, and Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor. Xu’s choice of repertory demonstrates a consistent awareness and interest in the Germanic-Viennese tradition. His performance of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto and Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto with the Louisiana Symphony Orchestra further allowed him to experience modern pianism at its finest.

Xu has acquired several awards and prizes, including the Steinway Society of Puerto Rico Award and the Gold Medal of the New Orleans International Piano Competition. Over the past few years, Xu further immersed himself in the world of contemporary music, performing Iain Farrington’s Porgy and Bess Fantasy with Symphony New Hampshire, and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the Magari ensemble. Xu frequently launches recording projects and commits to piano music written within the last 3 years. 

In the summer of 2023, Xu was invited for a performance in his hometown, Shenyang, China. Employing extended technique, his performance of George Crumb’s Apparition with mezzo soprano Chihiro Asano was warmly received by the Chinese audience. Growing up in the city, Xu was a student of two famous pedagogues, Dongdun Zhang and Danwen Wei for 8 and 7 years respectively. Xu moved to New York for college at Mannes School of Music, where he studied with Vladimir Feltsman and Victor Rosenbaum, with whom Xu continued to study at New England Conservatory while pursuing his Master of Music. Rosenbaum’s musical sensitivity and emotional intensity deeply impacted Xu’s perception of music, causing the New York Concert Review to comment that Xu’s performance of Bach is “sensitive to every harmonic change.” In the doctoral program at the Conservatory, Xu studies with Bruce Brubaker, chair of the piano department while under the influence of many great musicians and scholars, including composer and theorist, Katarina Miljkovic. His extended and expansive tutelage with Bruce Brubaker has profoundly shaped Xu’s aesthetic and philosophical framework for establishing a connection with musical text.