Biography

Pianist Lixin Zhang has been described as “galvanic shimmering” (New Zealand Herald) and “unobtrusive virtuosity with sparkling passage work and always flexible musicianship” (Five Lines Magazine). Having won every major national competition in his home country of New Zealand, he came to attention upon winning the Silver Medal and Second Prize at the 2021 Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition. At the age of sixteen, RATTLE RECORDS released his debut album, PLAY which topped the New Zealand classical charts for five consecutive weeks.

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Lixin has performed actively in Europe, North America, and Asia/Pacific. He has performed with orchestras such as the Bach Musica, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Colburn Orchestra, among many others. He has also collaborated with conductors such as Benjamin Northey, Rita Paczian, Ross Jamie Collins, and Luke Di Somma. Past performances include appearances at the Aspen Music Festival (USA), Semaine Internationale Piano et Musique de Chambre (Switzerland) Deia International Music Festival (Spain) and the Gisborne PianoMania Festival (NZ).

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A strong advocate for music education and accessibility, Lixin is the founder of the ToneAce Academy. Conceived in 2022, the institution was recently awarded a NZ PRESTIGE Award for Music School of the Year. Recently, ToneAce launched the Neville Baird Impact Program, which focuses on talented children from underprivileged backgrounds by providing scholarships, free music lessons, and performance opportunities.

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Lixin is currently pursuing undergraduate studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he learns with Fabio Bidini. Previously, he studied with Michael Endres (former Head of Piano at Hanns Eisler Berlin) and Neville Baird in New Zealand. He has also received important guidance from Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Edith Fischer, Stephen Hough and Alessio Bax.