Feng Ning
Hanns Eisler Hochschule; Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester; Zhejiang Conservatory of Music; Sichuan Conservatory of Music
Ning Feng is recognised internationally as an artist of great lyricism, innate musicality and stunning virtuosity. He performs across the globe with major orchestras and conductors, and in recital and chamber concerts in some of the most important international series and festivals. The Washington Post has described him as "a wonderful player with a creamy, easy tone and an emotional honesty” and Gramophone magazine said of his recent Brahms Sonatas recording that his “tone is simply ravishing, even when it soars into the stratosphere…"
Highlights of the 25/26 season include performances with The Hallé on tour in China, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Polish National Radio Symphony and Shanghai Symphony orchestras. In recent seasons Ning Feng has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, National Symphony and Minnesota Orchestras in the US. In Europe he performs regularly with orchestras including Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Vienna Radio, Helsinki Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. He has also performed many times with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, with whom he has toured Asia, Europe and Australia with van Zweden.
In China, Ning is held in the highest regard, appearing with all the major Chinese orchestras, in recital and regularly with visiting international orchestras such as the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer, with whom he has performed several times in Budapest, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In 20/21 he was Artist-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and in 23/24 he was the Artist-in-Residence at the NCPA Beijing when he performed Mozart’s 5 Violin Concerti as well as the complete solo Sonatas and Partitas of Bach. This season he will perform extensively throughout China as concerto soloist and in solo and chamber recital.
Ning performs regularly at London’s Wigmore Hall, returning in November 25 for a trio recital with Nelson Goerner and Edgar Moreau, in December 25 for the Beares Chamber Festival, in February 26 for a duo recital with Serena Wang and in June 27 for a duo recital with Xuefei Yang. Other highlights this season include trio recitals in France and Switzerland, solo recitals in Boston and Italy and duo tour in China with Xuefei Yang . He has performed many times at Kissinger Sommer Festival and at other festivals including Schubertiade, Schleswig-Holstein, Heidelberg, Ludwigsburg and has collaborated with artists such as Daniel Müller-Schott, Nicholas Angelich and Igor Levit.
Ning records for Channel Classics. His recording of Bach’s complete solo works for violin was hailed by Gramophone as “unlike anyone else’s… it’s the illusion of a freewheeling conversation projected from within" His discography also includes concerti by Elgar and Tchaikovsky, works for violin and orchestra by Bruch, Sarasate, Lalo, Ravel and others, the 24 Paganini Caprices and the complete Brahms Sonatas with Zee Zee. His next release in October 25 will be of Brahms and Goldmark Violin Concertos, with Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Antony Hermus.
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 (London) with Hu Kun. He was First Prize winner of both the 2005 Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand) and 2006 International Paganini Competition.
Ning Feng plays the 1710 Stradivari violin known as the ‘Vieuxtemps Hauser’, by kind arrangement with 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 Eisler Hochschule and also holds the position of International Chair of Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. In China, he is the Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Academy at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and Vice-Dean of the Violin Institute at Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
