Lü Siqing (; born 26 November 1969) is a Chinese violinist. He was the first Asian violinist to win the first prize at the Paganini Competition in 1987.

Biography

Lü was born in 1969 in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

, China. As a child he was taught by the famous violinist Sheng Zhongguo. He began studying the violin at the age of four, and at age eight, he was accepted at the

Central Conservatory of Music The Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM; ) is the national music academy of China, located in Beijing. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The academy is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Overview Fo ...

and became the youngest person to study there. When he was 11, Lü was selected by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

to study at the

Yehudi Menuhin School The Yehudi Menuhin School is a specialist music school in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, England, founded in 1963 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. The current director of music is the British classical pianist Ashley Wass. The school is one ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After returning to China in 1985, he appeared as a member of several major Chinese

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s, and made guest appearances on Chinese television programmes, including the Chinese New Year Show watched by over one billion people. In 1994, he performed at the Beijing Concert Hall in front of the President of China. He currently holds the post of Director of the Violin Department at Naxos International, the CD company which records and distributes his music. Lü has received recognition as a professional violinist. In 1987, he won the first prize of the Paganini Competition; and in 1999, he was the winner of the Web Concert Hall International Competition.

Notable recordings

Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto ''The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto'' (梁山伯与祝英台小提琴协奏曲; often abbreviated ) is one of the most famous Chinese works of orchestral music. It is an adaptation of an ancient legend, the ''Butterfly Lovers,'' and is written f ...

(Naxos reference 8.006) *Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto (Naxos reference 8.225940) *Marco Polo Sampler (Naxos reference MP-2000-1/2HDCD) *

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

: Violin Concerto in E Minor (Naxos reference 8.007) *Pablo de Sarasate: Violin Showpieces Vol. 1 (Naxos reference 8.225961HDCD) *Traumerei: Romantic Violin Favourites (Naxos reference 8.225936) *

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

: The Four Seasons (Naxos reference 8.225955HDCD)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Siqing 1969 births Living people Chinese violinists Musicians from Qingdao 21st-century Chinese musicians Paganini Competition prize-winners Central Conservatory of Music alumni 21st-century violinists