Protégé Recital Series: Zitong Wang
Zitong Wang, the 2023 Summer Festival Protégé Project Pianist, is now a sought-after solo pianist globally. She has emerged as one of the most compelling voices of her generation, captivating audiences with her fiery bravura and poignant sensitivity. She has performed with major orchestras and as a chamber musician across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In 2025, she won the Bronze Medal at the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition, as well as the Krystian Zimerman Award for Best Performance of a Sonata. CMNW audiences raved about her 2023 festival performances, and now, more than three years later, Portland welcomes Zitong back for an intimate, self-curated concert of Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Liszt.
Irving Levin Performance Hall at All Classical Radio
Sunday, 2/14 • 4:00 pm
Program
Click on any piece of music below to learn more about it.
- CHOPIN Nocturne in B major, Op. 9, No. 3
CHOPIN (1810–1849) Nocturne in B major, Op. 9, No. 3 (1830–1831)
- R. SCHUMANN Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856) Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 (1837)
I. Lebhaft
II. Innig
III. Mit Humor
IV. Ungeduldig
V. Einfach
VI. Sehr rasch
VII. Nicht schnell
VIII. Frisch
IX. Lebhaft
X. Balladenmäßig - Sehr rasch
XI. Einfach
XII. Mit Humor
XIII. Wild und lustig
XIV. Zart und singend
XV. Frisch
XVI. Mit gutem Humor
XVII. Wie aus der Ferne
XVIII. Nicht schnell- CHOPIN 4 Impromptus
CHOPIN (1810–1849)
Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 29
Impromptu No. 2 in F-sharp Major, Op. 36
Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, Op. 51
Fantaisie-impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66- LISZT Fantasie über Themen aus Mozarts Figaro und Don Giovanni, S. 697
LISZT (1811–1886) Fantasie über Themen aus Mozarts Figaro und Don Giovanni, S. 697 (1842), Arr. Ferruccio Busoni
Artists
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Zitong Wang
Piano, Past Protégé
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Zitong Wang’s authenticity, bravura, and sensitivity have enchanted audiences over the years, particularly so at the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, where she claimed the Bronze Medal and the Krystian Zimerman Award for the Best Performance of a Sonata.
In her most recent season, she has taken the stage at prestigious venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Prinzregententheater in Munich, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk, and the Shanghai Symphony Hall, among others, where her performances won ardent reception.
In 2026, her engagements include appearances at at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Kyoto Concert Hall, and Seoul Arts Center for the Chopin Competition Laureates Tour. Her China recital tour, starting in April, brings her back to Beijing, where she made her solo debut at age thirteen.
Born into a family of piano educators, Wang is pursuing her graduate studies with Dang Thai Son at the New England Conservatory. At an early age, she studied with Hua Chang and Yuan Sheng at the Central Conservatory of Music. Entering the Curtis Institute of Music on a full scholarship, she was mentored by Meng-Chieh Liu and the late Eleanor Sokoloff. Almost becoming a harpsichordist, she studied historical performance practice as a secondary major with Leon Schelhase and took a philosophy course at the University of Pennsylvania. This affinity led to an invitation from Trevor Pinnock to perform on original harpsichords from the antique Karen Flint Collection.
She has shared the stage with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the New Jersey Symphony, NEC Philharmonia Orchestra (Boston), the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio. She has collaborated with conductors including Jahja Ling, Xian Zhang, Antoni Wit, Andrzej Boreyko, Anthony Hermus, Lina González-Granados, Hugh Wolff, Daniel Smith, Darrell Ang, and Yang Yang.
Not just a soloist par excellence, she is also an active chamber musician, performing with artists including David Shifrin, Roberto Díaz, Soovin Kim, and Gloria Chien, as well as ensembles such as the Isidore Quartet and Curtis Ensemble 20/21. She was selected as a Protégé Project Artist at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon, where her performances received wide recognition. She also interprets contemporary music, working closely with composers such as Unsuk Chin, Bright Sheng, David Ludwig, and Alvin Singleton.
Prior to the Chopin Competition, she won Sixth Prize and the Special Prize for the Performance of Contemporary Works at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. She also received First Prize in the 33rd Ferrol International Piano Competition and the “Nelson Freire Prize” for the Best Performance of a Work by Chopin (2022).
She has been featured on Deutsche Grammophon Stage+, Medici TV, Amadeus TV, WRTI, WHYY-TV, and All Classical Radio. Her performances from the Chopin Competition are featured on an album released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute as part of its Blue Series of competition recordings in 2026.
Upcoming Concerts & Events
- Protégé Recital Series: Zitong Wang (currently selected)
