XIAN ZHANG
CONDUCTORMusic Director – New Jersey Symphony
Principal Guest Conductor: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Emeritus – Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano
Honorary Doctorate – The Juilliard School
XIAN ZHANG
CONDUCTOR
Music Director
New Jersey Symphony
Principal Guest Conductor
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Emeritus
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano
Honorary Doctorate
The Juilliard School
ABOUT
2023/24 will mark Zhang’s eighth season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, who celebrated their centennial last season. Zhang also holds the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having previously held the position of Music Director between 2009–2016.
In high demand as a guest conductor, Zhang juggles an exceptionally busy diary of guest engagements alongside her titled commitments. Throughout 2023/24, she conducts Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed production features a starry cast with Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleanora Buratto and Asmik Grigorian sharing the role of Cio-Cio-San, and Matthew Polezani as Pinkerton.
Following a busy summer 2023 season which saw her conducting Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, Zhang’s upcoming symphonic highlights include returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Houston Symphony, Orchestra of St Luke’s, and National Symphony Orchestra DC. Zhang remains a popular guest of London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, NAC Ottawa, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Belgian National Orchestra, and Norwegian Opera where she returned last season for Puccini’s Tosca.
Letters for The Future (released 2022), Zhang’s recording on Deutsche Grammophon with Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, won multiple GRAMMY awards in both the Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo categories.
Zhang previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor’s Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.
RECENT PRAISE
THE NEW CRITERION
JAY NORDLINGER
“Last night, she showed a fine grasp on Puccini’s score. She was nimble and she was sweeping, as needed. The music never lacked for vitality. When Puccini wants an undercurrent, Zhang made sure it was there. “
PARTERRE
KEVIN PG
“But the standout performance of the evening came from conductor Xian Zhang, making her Met debut. Zhang has a fantastic ear for balance, never allowing the orchestra to overwhelm the singers, but nevertheless produces a rich palette of orchestral color, particularly from the percussion section. There’s a huge amount of detail and refinement to Zhang’s conducting, and she nicely captures the ebb and flow of the score.”
BACHTRACK
SUSAN STEMPLESKI
“Making her company debut in the pit was conductor Xian Zhang, eliciting superb music-making from the orchestra and allowing Puccini’s magnificent score to work its magic throughout the evening.”
NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW
RICK PERDIAN
“Zhang has an exceptional ear for balance, as well as the ability to draw the softest, most transparent tones imaginable from the orchestra […] With such skills and obvious audience appeal, Zhang should prove a valuable addition to the Met’s conducting staff.”
MUSICAL AMERICA
STEVEN WINN
“Dvorak’s New World got an emphatic reading under Zhang’s vivid and demonstrative lead. Punching out chords and scooping through space with her arms, she went for big effects.”
SF CLASSICAL VOICE
“Zhang, music director of the New Jersey Symphony, elicited phrasing, emphases, tempos, and inner details to consistently telling effect. From the early measures, in the descending open intervals of the strings, a feathery, chaste lightness gave the eruption that followed a dramatic weight. The well-judged contrasts and narrative sure-footedness continued. With pert string figures and chortling, gusty contributions from the woodwinds, Zhang brought a zesty strain of humor to a piece that normally induces few smiles. Yet nothing here was precious or self-conscious. The tension built inexorably, in striking contours, the climax heightened by slightly extended rubato before the concussive payoff.”
MUSICAL AMERICA
CLIVE PAGET
“this April 24 concert at London’s Barbican Centre was a perfect demonstration of her acute musicality, dynamism, and breadth of talent… The long, drawn-out crescendo that forms the bedrock of the finale, like so much in this rewarding concert, was spot on.”
BACHTRACK
LAURENCE VITTES
“The opening chords [of Beethoven Symphony 7] had tremendous punch, the woodwinds sang their tune under wonderful legato strings, the pipings in the poco sostenuto moved smoothly, almost in tempo into an overwhelmingly positive Vivace. She built the sound down from the brass and the woodwinds stood out more vividly for it… Zhang emphasized firepower and determination in the third movement, hammering home the repeating three-note sequence.”
NEWS
CONTACT
ALEXANDER MONSEY
GENERAL MANAGER
+44 (0) 20 7957 5851
EMAIL
BEVERLEY VONG
GENERAL MANAGER
+44 (0) 20 7957 5859
EMAIL
ALISON HEATHER
NORTH AMERICAN ORCHESTRAL BOOKING
+44 (0) 207 957 5812
+44 (0) 775 452 3450
EMAIL
Bibi Thomas Gándara
ASSISTANT ARTIST MANAGER
O: +44 (0) 20 7957 5831
M: +44 (0) 7981802278
EMAIL