With great confidence, uncompromising musical understanding and captivating interpretations, Tianwa Yang has quickly earned herself a place among the ranks of leading violinists. Her profound engagement with music and her authentic playing, which is both calm and electrifying, have been recognised with numerous awards, including the Opus Klassik as ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ 2022 and the ‘Annual Prize of the German Record Critics’.
The violinist, who lives in Germany, performs as a soloist with orchestras including the WDR, MDR and HR symphony orchestras, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestras in Detroit, Baltimore and Vancouver, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed at major venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Wigmore Hall in London and Lincoln Centre in New York, as well as at renowned festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Mozartfest Würzburg, the Heidelberg Spring Festival and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.
Her long-standing collaboration with the Naxos label has already resulted in several award-winning recordings, including the complete works for violin and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm, the violin concerto and double concerto by Johannes Brahms with the German Symphony Orchestra, the two violin concertos by Prokofiev with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra under Jun Märkl, Eugène Ysaÿe's six solo sonatas, the complete recording of Pablo Sarasate's violin works, Wolfgang Rihm's complete works for violin and piano, a CD with both Mendelssohn’s [Bartholdy] violin concertos, and Lalo's Symphonie espagnole with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Her most recent release, in June 2023, is an album with pianist Nicholas Rimmer featuring violin sonatas by George Antheil.
Born and raised in Beijing, Tianwa Yang was the youngest performer worldwide to record Niccolò Paganini's 24 Caprices on CD at the age of 13. At 16, she came to Germany on a DAAD scholarship, laying the foundation for her career in Europe.
Tianwa Yang is grateful to Lin Yaoji, Jörg-Wolfgang Jahn and Anner Bylsma, who have accompanied and significantly influenced her artistic development. In addition to her concert activities, Tianwa Yang has held a professorship at the Würzburg University of Music since 2018, having previously taught at the Bern University of the Arts.
