Zhang Shengliang (aka Niu Niu)

 

Niu Niu is the stage name of Zhang Shengliang, who was born into a musical family in Xiamen in 1997. With signs of exceptional talent shown at the age of three, Niu Niu made his recital debut at six years old with a Mozart Sonata and a Chopin Étude. Niu Niu was the youngest student ever enrolled in the affiliated primary school of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of eight, and was admitted to New York’s Juilliard School with a full scholarship in 2014 and has graduated in 2018.

Niu Niu signed to EMI Classics at the age of nine, making him the youngest pianist ever signed to an international classical label. Since then, he has released ten albums. Fate & Hope and Lifetime, the two globally released albums under Universal Music’s Decca Classics Label,
includes his own composition “Hope” and “Miss”.

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Niu Niu’s career highlights include the 2007 Pearl Awards at London’s Royal Festival Hall, where he performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No.1 under his mentor Leslie Howard in the presence of the future King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales. In 2009, he became the
youngest pianist to give a solo recital at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Niu Niu was also named the youngest laureate of the 2010 PRIX Montblanc in Berlin. In 2017, he was invited to perform for the presidents of China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa at the BRICS summit evening gala.

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In August 2016, he completed a tour in 16 cities within 25 days throughout China. So far, he had done hundreds of performances all over the world, including concerts with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, and Beijing
Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of renowned conductors including Maestro Jaap Van Zweden, Jacek Kaspszyk, and Jiri Belohlavek.

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In Japan, Niu Niu has performed under the batons of renowned conductors including Maestro Yutaka Sado, Naoto Otomo, Norichika Iimori, and Sachio Fujioka, with orchestras including Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Pacific
Philharmonia Tokyo, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, and New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

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In 2018-19, Niu Niu dubbed the piano performance of the character Wei Pang in NHK’s animated version of Piano no Mori (Forest of Piano), which was broadcasted by Netflix
worldwide. This animation has boosted an appreciation in classical music and drawn more young audience to Niu Niu’s music globally.

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In April 2024, Niu Niu released “Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 6” globally, a live recording album with Maestro Jaap Van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Niu Niu continues to embarks on a world concerts/activities’ tour in Asia, America and Europe in the 2025/26 season, including participation in the Osaka EXPO’s opening program “Physical Twin Symphony", a tour across Japan that includes more than 20 concerts of recital and chamber music in Oct 2025, and national tours across Mexico in January and April 2026.