Richard Zhang was born in Jiashan, China in 2005 and showed a great interest in music at a very early age. He began playing the piano when he was six, studying with William Zhou

Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne No.1 , Op 55.

Although rather slow Richard’s aristocratic musicianship shone through this most beautiful of all Chopin Nocturnes which was in fact the favourite of that magician of the keyboard Shura Cherkassky.https://fb.watch/BNojHde30K/

It was obvious that Richard has had some wonderful training from the Menuhin School where he has been studying with Marcel Baudet who has instilled in so many young musicians a real sense of musicianship and respect for the score. Damir Duramovic and Can Arisoy are both products of Marcel Baudet at the Menuhin School and have both received a real grounding in true musicianship going on to graduate from the Royal College and The Guildhall .https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/03/29/brazil-200-and-keyboard-trust-30-a-collaboration-born-on-wings-of-brazilian-song/

Many years ago I had the honour to be on the jury of the Monza competition with Marcel and could witness the musical integrity and humility that he now shares with his lucky students. It was this musical integrity that allowed this nocturne to sing with simplicity and a superb sense of balance where the bel canto could sing sustained by a discretely placed bass. Even the coda unfolded with refined colouring in which the bass melody was allowed to emerge with great beauty.

Claude Debussy: Images, série I
I. Reflets dans l’eau
II. Hommage à Rameau
III. Mouvement

A beautiful fluidity to the sound in ‘Reflets’ as there was a gradual build up to the passionate climax but always with control and an architectural sense of line. The final page was of refined beauty and ravishing colouring. There was an aristocratic poise to ‘Hommage’ with some beautiful atmospheric pedal effects and a haunting sense of line to the final page before the sotto voce of ‘Movement’. Played with transcendental control and fantasy as it wove its way into the stratosphere with refined brilliance.

Robert Schumann:  Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op 26
I. Allegro, (Sehr Lebhaft), B-flat major
II. Romanze (Ziemlich Langsam), g minor
III. Scherzino, B-flat major
IV: Intermezzo, (Mit Größter Energie), e-flat minor
V: Finale, (Höchst Lebhaft), B-flat major

There was a great sense of forward movement and an overall sense of line even in the differing interludes of the ‘Allegro’ that was played with a dynamic drive of passionate intensity.There was a simplicity and beauty to the ‘Romanze’ that was contrasted with the capricious driving rhythms of the Scherzo where lightness and beauty were given to the musical line. The ‘Intermezzo’ just burst from Richard’s fingers with controlled passion but always with a superb sense of line and phrasing of refined elegance. The ‘Finale’ showed off Richard’s remarkable ‘fingerfertigkeit’ that together with a relentless drive even in the mellifluous contrasting episodes finally exploded with exhilaration and excitement in the coda of the final bars.

A full church greeted this young man with a justly deserved ovation and it augurs well for his studies that will continue with Ronan o’Hora at the Guildhall – another superb trainer of so many remarkable young musicians.

In October 2015 he met the harpsichord maker Ferguson Hoey at the China Music Exhibition, and tried a harpsichord for the first time. Immediately realising his exceptional talent, Mr. Hoey arranged for him to come to the UK and audition at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Here he continued his piano studies with Marcel Baudet. 

Richard has given various solo performances in China and Europe, taking part in a number of concerts in the Menuhin Hall and other venues since joining the school. In December 2017 he was the soloist for a performance of Finzi’s Eclogue with the school’s Junior Orchestra, a mature performance much praised for its meditative qualities. In February 2018 he performed Liszt Transcendental Studies in Amsterdam to considerable acclaim. 

His love of chamber music came to the fore in the Menuhin School’s Summer Festival 2018, when he performed Schumann’s Piano Quintet with other pupils. In March 2019 he progressed to the finals of the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark and in June performed with other students at London’s Wigmore Hall. In the Summer Festival he joined string players at the school in a dazzling performance of the Dvorak Piano Quintet. Then in October he partnered Alina Ibragimova in the Violin Sonata by Debussy at Zamira Menuhin Benthall’s 80th Birthday Concert in the Menuhin Hall. In 2021 Richard was awarded Distinction in the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition. 

Richard has taken part in master classes with many distinguished teachers including Cristina Ortiz, Angela Hewitt, Klaus Hellwig and Jacques Rouvier. His musical interests and repertoire are wide-ranging, from early C17th keyboard masters up to contemporary composers. He also composes and has been a contributor to the “250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven” international composition project. 

He has been awarded a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and in addition to this generous bursary, he has been selected by the Keyboard Trust to receive the 2024 Dr. Weir Legacy Award to help support his further studies. 

He will also be joining Talent Unlimited since his study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

Presented in association with Talent Unlimited