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The Chinese pianist, Tianqi Du, started playing piano at the age of 5 with Professor Xueyun Chen, soon winning dozens of prizes in domestic competitions, before holding his first recital when only 10 years old. He sudied at Sichuan Conservatory of Music 四川音乐学院 (2011-2014). Unnder the mentorship of renowned Chinese piano educator, Professor Dan Zhaoyi, he was awarded prizes in a number of national and international piano competitions, including the Hong Kong Toyama Piano Competition, the China Steinway Piano Competition, the Wiesbaden Youth Piano Competition, the San Jose International Youth Piano Competition, the Asia Chopin Piano Competition and the Second Beijing International Piano Festival Concerto Competition.
Tianqi Du has performed numerous concertos - including those by Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Grieg, Scriabin and Ravel’s Concerto in G major - with a number of orchestras at international venues in Berlin, Jerusalem, Torun, San Jose, Tokyo and major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen, Chongqing and Guiyang. In 2016, he began studying with American-Taiwanese pianist and Professor Meng-Chieh Liu at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (2016-2018). As a young artist, he also explores other art forms and has made several experimental videos, and performed musical works of his own composition.
In recent years, Tianqi Du has returned to the stage performing J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988). Featuring 13 preludes and fugues arranged by the BACH motif, his program has been presented many times and gained wide attention in both China and America. The review of The Theatre Time at Carnegie Hall says, “It’s impossible not to draw comparisons to Glenn Gould when considering Tianqi Du, age 25, a rising star in China’s classical music scene. In the sea of up-and-coming piano talent, Tianqi Du has forged his own identity. Embracing avant-garde experimentation and modern visual arts, Du pushes the envelope, extending himself far beyond the classical concert pianist route.” In the Chinese classical music magazine Piano Artistry, world-renowned piano teacher, Professor Zhaoyi Dan, wrote that “Tianqi’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ deeply touched everyone at the recital and my heart was quivering. At the many concerts I have seen in my lifetime I have experienced emotions from excitement to sleeplessness, but this was the first time I listened to a performance with tears in my eyes, and then sobbed in the artists’ arms backstage." Tianqi Du currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts. |
