qin

Qin Liwei (Head of Cello Studies, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music)

'Mr. Qin has a great deal going for him, including a meltingly beautiful tone, flawless centered intonation and an ironclad technique' - New York Times

An exclusive Universal Music China Artist, Li-Wei Qin has appeared all over the world as a soloist and as a chamber musician. After achieving great success at the 11th Tchaikovsky International Competition where he was awarded the Silver Medal, Li-Wei has since won the First Prize in the prestigious 2001 Naumburg Competition in New York. Li-Wei has enjoyed successful artistic collaborations with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Janowski, NDR-Sinfonierorchester Hamburg and Hrůša, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Tabachnik, London Philharmonic and Briger, BBC Symphony and Van Steen, BBC Philharmonic and Totelier, BBC Scottish Symphony and Brabbins, Osaka Philharmonic and Belohlavek, Basel Symphony Orchestra and Bringuier, China Philharmonic and Yu Long, Sydney Symphony and Tan Dun, Melbourne Symphony and the late Viotti, and Sinfonia Varsovia and the late Lord Menuhin. Li-Wei has also appeared with chamber orchestras such as the Kremerata Baltika, the Munich, the Zurich, the Australian Chamber Orchestras.

2013/14 season includes appearances with the Deutches Symphonie-Orchestrer Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonic and his Los Angeles Philharmonic début with Dutoit. In recital and chamber music, Li-Wei is a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall and for the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, New York. He has appeared at the BBC Proms, the Rheinghau, the City of London, the Schlewigs-Holstein and the Mecklenburg Festivals. Li-Wei has collaborated with musicians such as Daniel Hope, Nabuko Imai, Misha Maisky, David Finckel, Wu Han, Vladimir Mendelssohn and Peter Frankel, among many others. Li-Wei’s recordings on Universal Music/Decca include the complete Beethoven Sonatas, Works of Rachmaninov with pianist Albert Tiu, Dvořàk Concerto with Singapore Symphony Orchestra and conductor Lan Shui and Elgar/Walton Concerti with the London Philharmonic. Most recently, courtesy of Universal Music, Li-Wei's 2013 live concert with the Shanghai Symphony and Maestro Yu Long has been released on Sony Classical.

Born in Shanghai Li-Wei moved to Australia at the age of 13, before accepting scholarships to study with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. In 2002, Li-Wei received the Young Australian of the Year Award. Other major invitations included appearances at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics ( New Zealand Symphony), 2012 London Olympics and the Davos World Economics Forum ( Basel Symphony Orchestra). Prior to teaching at the YST Conservatory, Li-Wei was a professor of cello at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. He is also a guest professor at Shanghai and Central Conservatory of Music in China. Li-Wei plays a 1780 Joseph Guadagnini cello, generously loaned by Dr and Mrs Wilson Goh.

Website - www.liweicello.com