Xu Qi

Qi Xu (Chinese: 徐起; born September 26, 1994) is a Chinese pianist.

For the football player, see Xu Qi (footballer).
For the dynasty founded by Li Bian originally known as Qi, see Southern Tang.
In this Chinese name, the family name is Xu.
Xu Qi
徐起
Xu at age 21
Background information
Born1994 (age 26–27)
Shenzhen, China
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Pianist
InstrumentsPiano
Years active2008–present

Early life and education

Xu was born in Shenzhen, began studying piano at six, and entered Shenzhen Art School at age 10, studied with Professor Dan Zhaoyi, who is one of the most prestigious piano teachers in China.

In 2009, Xu was accepted by the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music with the highest score in both of the entrance auditions. He attended the Juilliard School and followed Professor Kaplinsky, the chairwoman of the Piano Department of Juilliard. Meanwhile, he studied academics at the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) in New York. In 2012, Qi Xu entered Columbia University (CC'16) and was designated as a John Jay Scholar. He majors in Mathematics and Philosophy, and continues to study piano with Prof. Kaplinsky in the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange Program. In 2014, Qi was selected as one of the Columbia-Oxbridge Scholars to further study at Cambridge University for his junior year. In the meantime, he studies piano with Professor Christopher Elton, former Head of the Keyboard department of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Career

In 2008, Xu was the recipient of all the four international and national piano competitions in which he participated,[1] including the first prize in the 9th Krainev International Piano Competition (Junior Group) held in Ukraine and the second prize in the 11th Ettlingen International Youth Piano Competition in Germany, where he was the only 14-years-old youngest one in Senior Group (age up to 20). In 2011, Qi Xu won the first prize and the orchestra prize in the 11th Morocco International Piano Competition (Casablanca).[2] He is the youngest candidate ever received at this stage of the competition.

Since 2008, Xu had many performances all around the world including China, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, France, Morocco and USA. In December 2009, he performed in Cortot Hall Paris, and has performed there several more times since then. In April 2010, Xu was invited by Television Spain to record a program “Young Soloist” which had been broadcast sixteen times. He made concert tour to several cities in Poland in 2012 and 2013, and recorded his first album "Qi Xu Plays Beethoven, Liszt, Stravinsky" there in 2013. In the summers from 2010 to 2014, he participated the Long Island piano festival "Pianofest" and the Aspen Music Festival respectively. He is one of the pianists performed in the Rising Stars Piano Recital Series held annually in Long Island.[3]

References
  1. Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists - Prizewinners 2008 Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Morocco's international music competition Grand Prix goes to China's Qi Xu.
  3. Young Faces, Major Talents For 'Rising Stars Piano Series'
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