CONTESTANTS

Drawn to study piano at the early age of four, Muzi Zhao was eight when he was accepted into the Junior Music Program of the Hong Kong Academy for

Performing Arts. He also attended Shenzhen Middle School, ranked among the top schools in Guangdong Province, that prepares students for international college studies, especially in the United States. In the same year that he gradated from the senior division of Shenzehn Middle School, he began studies as a freshman at Northwestern University.

As a pre-college student, Muzi expanded his musical training by competing and winning prizes in international competitions that included the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition and Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists. He won first place prizes in the Kawai Asian Piano Competition and the Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia. He performed at the Shenzhen Children’s Palace, Shantou University, and the Shenzehn Luohu Cultural Center. Most recently, as a college student, he won first place in the 2017 Emilio del Rosario Concerto Competition.

Currently a sophomore at Northwestern University, Muzi is pursuing a Dual Degree Program of Journalism and Piano Performance under the tutelage of James Giles.

Muzi Zhao~ age 19Shenzhen, Guangdong, China andEvanston, Illinois

SOLO RECITALJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I Prelude and Fugue No. 22 in B-flat minor, BWV 867

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPINNocturne No. 5 in F-sharp major, Opus 15, No. 2

SERGEI RACHMANINOFFVariations on a theme of Corelli, Opus 42 Theme. Andante

1. Poco piu mosso2. L’istesso tempo3. Tempo di Minuetto4. Andante5. Allegro6. L’istesso tempo (ma non tanto) 7. Vivace8. Adagio misterioso9. Un poco piu mosso

10. Allegro scherzando11. Allegro vivace12. L’istesso tempo13. Agitato Intermezzo14. Andante (come prima) 15. L’istesso tempo16. Allegro vivace17. Meno mosso

18. Allegro con brio19. Piu mosso20. Piu mosso. Agitato Coda. Andante

ENSEMBLE RECITAL

OLIVIER MESSIAEN Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus

X. Regard de l Esprit de joie (“Contemplation of the joyful Spirit”)

JOHANNES BRAHMSSonata No. 2 for piano and violin in A major, Opus 100

I. Allegro amabilePaul Hauer, violin

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZARTConcerto No. 20 in D minor, Kõchel 466

I. AllegroStefanie Jacob, second piano

COMPETITION CONCERTO

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZARTConcerto No. 20 in D minor, Kõchel 466

I. AllegroII. Romanze

III. Rondo, Allegro assai