On July 19-22th three Lithuanian cities - Vilnius, Kaunas and Alytus - greeted Mengla Huang, one of the most famous Chinese violinists, winner of the N. Paganini competition.
This year on July 19-22th, in cooperation with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and Čiurlionis Quartet, together with one of the most famous Chinese violinists Mengla Huang, 4 concerts were held. The most prominent Chinese violinist drew attention in Europe when he was 22 years old. Critics point to Mengla Huang's impressive technique, which reveals the beauty of the most complex scores. And the audience - from Beijing to Copenhagen - accompany the violinist with shouts of support and standing ovations. Mengla Huang stepped on the stage with a self-worthy partner - the Ciurlionis Quartet, and briefly took listeners to the Baroque world of J. S. Bach and the enchanting era of N. Paganini.
He is one of the most prominent violinists on the world stage today, winner of the 49th Paganini Competition, multiple other competitions winner, winner of the Paganini competition gold medal and special prize for best interpretation, often referred to as "Oriental Paganini".
“The media likes to call me the Oriental Paganini. A title like this is a great honor, but an even greater responsibility.” says Mengla Huang, who is visiting Lithuania for the first time.
Since 2001, as a solo violinist, Mengla Huang has made his United States debut on concert stages such as Alice Tully Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. He has performed as an honorary guest at the opening concert of National Centre for Performing Arts (China). He became the first Chinese violinist to give a recital at the world famous Prague Spring International Music Festival. He toured with orchestras such as Sinfonieorchester Basel, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and many more top international orchestras and achieved astounding success throughout China, Japan andEurope. In addition, Mengla has also been invited as a solo violinist with Bamberger Symphoniker, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductors with whom he has collaborated are Neeme Jarvi, Jonathan Nott, Long Yu, Henrik Schaefer, Muhai Tang, Edo de Waart, Nikolaj Znaider, Jia Lü and Yi Zhang. The 16/17 season he completed the concert tour in China with Paganini 24 Caprices for solo violin and struck a strong chord among music critics, which also marked a milestone in his professional career. In 2014, Mengla as the ambassador, cooperated with FM.947, the only classical music Radio in China, to promote the development of classical music in China. Since 2005, Mengla Huang's solo albums have been exclusively published by Universal Music Deutsche Gramophon. Mengla Huang has worked as an associate professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He has also served as a guest professor of the Ishikawa Music Academy in Japan for many years andhas taken on the duty as a member of jury both international and domestic major competitions such as the Sendai International Violin Competition.
The employees of VU Confucius Institute, who attended Mengla Huang concert, shared their impressions: “We are still are living in the moments of the violinist virtuoso Mengla Huang and the Ciurlionis Quartet concert. We believe that Bach's music, performed exceptionally sensitively and professionally, will remain in the hearts of visitors of the four music festivals (Kristupas, Pažaislis, Dainava and "Muzika Jašiūnų dvare") for a long time to come. We are delighted to have contributed to the visit of Mengla Huang, the violinist named Oriental Paganini, to Lithuania, and for the many years of cooperation we thank the Lithuanian National Philharmonic.“
Concerts took place at the main summer festivals in Lithuania at that time:
- July 19 Kaunas Philharmonic Hall "Pažaislio muzikos festivalis"
- July "Muzika Jašiūnų dvare" and at Alytus St. Angel Guardian Church "Dainavos šalies muzikos festivalyje"
- July 22 Vilnius Church of St. Catherine "Šv. Kristupo festivalyje"
The program featured music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Niccolo Paganini and soloist Mengla Huang.
Performers:
Solist MENGLA HUANG (violin, China)
CIURLIONIS QUARTET:
JONAS TANKEVIČIUS (1st violin)
DARIUS DIKŠAITIS (2nd violin)
GEDIMINAS DAČINSKAS (viola)
GLEB PYŠNIAK (cello)
