Swiss-born Mélodie Zhao has established herself as one of the most talented and multifaceted musicians of the new generation. As a piano virtuoso, She broke world records by recording the summits of piano repertoire Chopin's 24 Études at 13 and Beethoven's Complete Piano Sonatas at 19.

She continues to break the rules – and the ice between stage and audience – with her liberating new projects that set foot in both classical and new music worlds.

Stage

Mélodie Zhao is accustomed to the stage since the age of 6. She played with major orchestras such as the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, China National, Shanghai Philharmonic etc. the conductors Vladimir Fedoseyev, Howard Griffiths, Michail Jurowski, Gustav Kuhn, Muhai Tang etc. and performed worldwide in prestigious concert halls such as Lincoln Center NYC, Tonhalle Zurich, NCPA Beijing, Victoria Hall Geneva, Theatre du Châtelet Paris, LAC Lugano and the festivals of Merano, Budapest, New Ross, Gstaad, Palermo, Valldemossa, Tiroler Festspiele, Davos etc.

Composition

In parallel, Mélodie Zhao began musical composition at 15. She regularly receives orders from orchestras and troupes such as Rudra Béjart Ballet or China National Opera. She has a very personal and distinctive style and language and explores film music in several collaborations with her filmmaker sister Cadenza. Her works include chamber, orchestral and religious music, as well as solo piano pieces where she often brings the virtuosity to a challenging level. She has a regular collaboration with the Swedish Camerata Nordica who performs with her in special concert projects combining classics and Mélodie’s own compositions and arrangements.

Conducting

She regularly conducts orchestras from the piano in many major piano concertos (Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Mozart, etc.) as well as her own compositions.

Philosophy

As a millennial, Mélodie Zhao is present on the social networks and shows regularly quality content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. These include innovative and modern music videos combining fashion, cinema, inspiring scripts and set design among others, as well as one-shot and live video recordings. Her goal is to present a different image of classical music in order to reach more people of her generation, using ways that they are familiar with and by expressing through her art powerful messages inspired by our time.

Education

Born into a musical family, Mélodie Zhao fell in love with and started the piano at age two and a half. At 9 she entered the Geneva Music Conservatory to study with Mayumi Kameda and at 13 the Geneva Music University where she received at 16 the Soloist Master degree with distinction in the class of Pascal Devoyon. She then followed her professor to Berlin for a second Master degree at the University of Arts.

www.melodiezhao.com