Canada’s most accomplished young pianists
Wenwen Du is one of Canada’s most accomplished young pianists. Born in China and trained by Dan Zhaoyi at the renowned Shenzhen Art School, Du was also mentored by the master pianist Lee Kum Sing at Vancouver Academy of Music.
Du has given piano recitals on three continents, Europe, North America, and Asia. In the summer of 2018, she recorded solo piano works of Schubert, Rachmaninov, and others, for CBC Radio. She has appeared in duo recitals with volinists Caroline Goulding, Nikki Chooi, and Timothy Chooi, and with sopranos Judith Howarth, mezzo soprano Abigail Levis, tenor Katherine Goforth, baritones Johannes Kammler and Anton Belov, and bass-baritone Richard Zeller. Du has also been featured as a pianist on All Classical Radio in Portland, OR.
Du has given recitals with tenor Ian Bostridge in cities including Daegu, Shanghai, New York City, Atlanta, Vancouver BC. Their performances received critical acclaim. “Du and Bostridge are not just on the same page, they anticipate each other’s every nuance in perfect synchronization.” (Vancouver Sun) The duo was “superb [in their] devastating concert” of music of World War I. (New York Times)
Du appeared at the LA Philharmonic for a unique recital of Franz Schubert and Samuel Beckett, stage directed by Yuval Sharon and featuring soprano Julia Bullock, bass-baritone Ryan McKinney, and actors including Miles Anderson of the BBC series House of Cards, and Barry McGovern of Braveheart and Game of Thrones.
Du has been mentored as a conductor by the Maestro Tang Muhai, himself a protege of Herbert von Karajan. After she served as primary artistic coach for Tianjin Opera House’s premiere of Tang Kang Nian’s Thunderstorm, Maestro Tang invited her to be Primary Artist Coach for Die Walküre with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, and then Assistant Conductor for China National Opera House and Opera Australia’s joint tour of Madama Butterfly, and primary artistic coach of Harbin Grand Theatre’s Tosca.
In September 2020, Du gave a live-streamed solo recital for Müzewest which was the first performance of classical music in Vancouver, BC, since the beginning of quarantine, during which she premiered Jacquie Leggatt’s “This Rabble World,” a reflection on a year of social and political upheaval. She also performed on the Florence / Chinese Lantern Festival Livestream Concert.
In 2021, Du appeared in multiple performances in China, including a recital of Dichterliebe with tenor Mingus Zhang at the Beijing National Library Concert Hall. She was twice presented in recital by Dame Caroline Wilson, the British Ambassador to China.
Du maintains a private piano studio in Vancouver, BC, where she is also an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, working as a vocal coach for the Opera Programme and Summer Vocal Workshop and assisting conductors such as Norbert Baxa and Leslie Dala on operas including Rusalka, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and annual Bard on the Beach performance.
In fall 2023, Wenwen will join Ian Bostridge for performances of Winterreise in Ottawa and San Francisco.