Meet Xiaokang Zhang, our 2023 Kruger Scholar
About Xiaokang Zhang
Xiao Zhang has recently completed his undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Music Performance under Paul Rickard-Ford.
A finalist in the 2021 Sydney Conservatorium of Music Concerto Competition and semi-finalist in the 2022 David Miller Award, Xiao graduated with the highest distinction in a recital performance of his own Piano Sonata, Sonata Fantasie, and a collection of forgotten masterpieces by the likes of Gerald Finzi and Nikolai Medtner. Having given numerous recitals, both private and public, Xiao has also performed in the Conservatorium’s Orchestras working alongside eminent conductors Roger Benedict and Rob McWilliams.
As a composer, he has written predominantly for the piano: works ranging from miniatures to larger-scale forms; and a few works besides for the chamber and orchestral settings. Xiao has also transcribed works from the orchestral oeuvre for solo piano and two pianos, including the entirety of Arthur Bliss’s Colour Symphony, Arnold Bax’s Tintagel and selections from Alexander Glazunov’s 7th Symphony. He also specialises in Classical improvisation at the piano.
About Xiao’s Kruger Scholarship Project
The Stefan Kruger Scholarship presents an amazing opportunity in its support both resource and financial wise to aid in his project, which is something he has wanted to do for a while now.
For his project Xiao will be undertaking to complete the second and third movements of his Piano Concerto which he had started early in 2022 and producing an orchestral reduction version for two pianos which he will be looking to record in the later part of 2023. He will also be completing a set of 24 Fugues in all major and minor keys and a set of Variations on an original theme.
As part of the completion of the project, he hopes to further refine and develop skills in the craft of musical construction both in miniatures and large-scale forms.