Violin: Ning Feng
Ning Feng is recognised internationally as an artist of great lyricism, innate musicality and stunningvirtuosity. He performs across the globe with major orchestras and conductors, and in recital and chamberconcerts in some of the most important international series and festivals. The Washington Post hasdescribed him as “a wonderful player with a creamy, easy tone and an emotional honesty” and BBCMusic Magazine said of a recent recording “silvery tonal purity, immaculate intonation and gentlybeguiling musicality”
Ning Fenghas toured Europe,Asia and Australia with Jaap van Zweden and the Hong KongPhilharmonic Orchestra and has been the soloist on tours of China with many orchestras including theBudapest F'estival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, with whom he has performed several times in Budapestwith the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester and Lawrence Foster, and with the Royal Liverpool PhilharmonicOrchestra with whom he performs regularly. He has played with the Royal Philharmonic, City ofBirmingham Symphony, Hall é,New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, National SymphonyWashington), Minnesota, Helsinki Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony. F'rankfurt Radio Symphony, Vienna Radio and Melbourne Symphony orchestras amongst others and in22/23 made his debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductors with whom he hasworked include Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Tugan Sokhiev, Vassily Petrenko, Long Yu, jia Lv,Muhai Tang, Guoyong Zhang, Yang Yang, Xincao Li, Yi Zhang, Daye Lin, Yi Huang and etc.
In China, Ning Feng is held in the highest regard, appearing regularly with all the major orchestras, visitinginternational orchestras and in recital. In 20/21 he was the Artist-in-Residence with the ShanghaiSymphony Orchestra. In 22/23 he returned with collaborations with 9 different orchestras including ChinaPhilharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Hangzhou Philharmonic and etc. and opened the season for QingdacSymphony and Xi’ an Symphony. He conducted and played as soloist on the concert with GuangzhouSymphony. In 23/24, he is the Artist-in-Residence for China National Centre for the Performing Arts(NCPA) and starts his “Bach Project” presenting Bach’s solo violin works and violin concerti
Ning performs regularly at London’s Wigmore Hall where he recenty performed Bach’s completeSonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and live-streamed on YouTube, He has performed many times atKissinger Sommer Festival, and has collaborated with artists including Fdgar Moreau, Daniel MüillerSchott, Nicholas Angelich and lgor Levit, In 22/23 he toured in Italy with a solo Paganini programme. In23/24 Ning tours with Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin at the most prestigiousvenues throughout China, as part of his “Bach Project”
Ning Feng records for Channel Classics and his most recent albumpianist Zee Zee was released in February 2023. His recording of Bach’s complete solo works for violirwas hailed by Gramophone as “unlike anyone else’s’.. it’s the illusion of a freewheeling conversationprojected from within that hed me captive."His discography alo includes concertiby Elgar, Finzi, 'Tchaikovsky, Bruch (Scottish Fantasy), works for violin and orchestra by Sarasate, LaloRavel and Bizet/Waxman, and with the Dragon Quartet works by Schubert, Dvo i á k, BorodinShostakovich and Weinberg.
Born in Chengdu, China, Ning Feng studied at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music with Weimin Hu,the Hanns Eisler School of Music (Berlin) with Antje Weithaas and the Royal Academy of Music (Londonwith Hu Kun, where he was the first student ever to be awarded 100% for his final recital. He was awardedas the Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM), which is an honor limited to 300 former Academystudents who have distinguished themselves within the music profession. 'The recipient of prizes at theHanover International, Queen Elisabeth and Yehudi Menuhin International violin competitions, NingFeng was First Prize winner of the 2005 Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand).and in 2006 won first prize in the International Paganini Competition.
Ning Feng plays the 1710 Stradivari violin known as the 'Vieuxtemps Hauser’ , by kind arrangementwith Premiere Performances of Hong Kong, and plays on strings by Thomastik-Infeld, Vienna.
He lives in Berlin and is a Violin Professor at the Hanns Fisler School of Music (Berlin) and also holdsthe position of International Chair of Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. InChina he serves as the Artistic Director of Chamber Music Academy of Zhejiang Conservatory of Musicand the Deputy Dean of Violin Research Institute of Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
