Profile
HUANG Mengla(China)
1st Prizewinner of the 1st SIMC Violin Section
As one of the most active violinists in the world stage, Mengla Huang occupies a unique position in his native land brimming with astonishing talents. Huang came to international attention after taking first prize at the prestigious Premio Paganini International Violin Competition in Italy in 2002, where he was also awarded with the Renato De Barbieri Memorial Award for the best interpretation of Paganini’s Caprices, and the Mario Ruminelli Memorial Award.
As a concert artist, his brilliant technique and unique interpretations have fascinated audiences throughout Asia, Europe and North America. He performed as soloist with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Wiener, Bamberger, Danish National, Mexico, Norrköping, Singapore, Sendai, NHK, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, the Luxembourg, Nice, Czech, Belgrade, Osaka, Kyoto, Japan, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, and in his native land the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, among many others. Mengla has collaborated with such distinguished conductors as Neeme Järvi, Jonathan Nott, Long Yu, Mario Venzago, Henrik Schaefer, Muhai Tang, Nicola Luisotti, Edo de Waart, Nikolaj Znaider, Jahja Ling, Jia Lü, Ryusuke Numajiri, Thomas Dausgaard, Tovey Bramwell and many others.
In April 2007, Huang gave his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center and his Boston debut at the Jordan Hall, and the following year toured both Asia and Italy, debuting at Dvorak Hall during the 63rd Prague Spring Festival in May. He capped the year with an invitation to perform at the grand opening gala of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
The 2009/10 Season saw further debuts and honours, including a featured performance at the ‘Paganini Festival’ in Taiwan, engagements with the Hamburger Symphoniker, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Macao Orchestra, a Japan tour with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and a China tour with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.
At the beginning of 2011, he initiated cooperation with the renowned Dresden Staatskapelle and toured together in China and Germany. Then his tour with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra was marked as the prelude of 2011/12 season. In March 2012, he received great success after the Mexican tour with Maxico National Symphony Orchestra, and the following July he performed with Dresden Staatskapelle again in Germany.
In 2013/14 season included his tour with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra and Prague Chamber Orchestra in China, concerts with Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini and Sendai Philharmonic. The year followed by a series of recitals in Japan and Italy.
Born after 1980s in Shanghai, Mengla Huang passed his educational years with three great violinists in three most prestigious musical institutions and achieved his degrees separately, these names include Prof. Lina Yu from Shanghai Musical Conservatory; Prof. György Pauk from Royal Academy of Music,UK; and Prof. Thomas Brandis from Musikhochschule Lübeck, Germany.
In addition to the Paganini prizes, Huang was awarded the Gold Medal and Public Prize in the 2001 Sendai International Music Competition in Japan; Best Performance Prize in the 2001 Shanghai Spring International Festival, and the Second Prize in the 2000 Lipinsky and Wieniawsky International Violin Competition in Poland. In 2007, he received a series of awards from Royal Academy of Music Foundation and Ricci Foundation. In 2009, he was invited to take the position as the Young Artist in Residence of Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Education Ambassador in Residence of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mengla Huang’s recordings on Universal Music/ Deutsche Grammophon include his debut album Violin Showpieces,the second recital album, a collection of works written by violinist-composers titled Violinissimo. His latest recording project was the 24 caprices by Paganini, which was released in 2011.
He is currently an Associate Professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.