Jianing Kong

Jianing Kong
Beethoven Sonata Op.106 “Hammerklavier”
Debussy Etudes
Chopin Sonata or Liszt Sonata 

Born in 1986 in Guangdong province, China, Jianing Kong has performed to great critical acclaim throughout the UK, Continental Europe and Asia. He is a prizewinner of many of the most prestigious international piano competitions such as the 2008 Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artist Competition, 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, 2013 Valsesia International Piano Competition, 2014 Scottish International Piano Competition,  and the 2015 Santander Piano Competition. Most recently he was a finalist at the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition, where also won the Ignaz Friedman best semi-final recital prize and the best Mozart concerto prize.

After winning the prestigious Concerto Prize at the Purcell School when he first arrived in the UK, Jianing gave his London debut in 2003, performing Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Purcell Symphony Orchestra at the Duke’s Hall (Royal Academy of Music).  Since then he has given performances at festivals and major venues across the U.K. and the European continent including Cadogan Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. John’s Smith Square, St. James’ Piccadilly, Draper’s Hall, Steinway Hall (London), Brighton Festival, Chipping-Campden Festival, Leeds Town Hall, Mitchell Library (Glasgow), Gasteig (Munich), Salle Cortot (Paris), Bechstein Centrum (Frankfurt) and the Bolshoi Hall (Moscow Conservatoire). He also frequently returns to China where he has appeared in all the major concert halls.

As a concerto soloist, Jianing has appeared with the Halle Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder at the Leeds Town Hall, the Ealing Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Johns Chamber Orchestra. In 2008, he gave the world-premier of Harris Kittos’ Vessel Tale in collaboration with the RCM Sinfonietta. Jianing was also invited to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto under Paul Daniel at the Royal Festival Hall last season, as part of the Purcell School’s Fifty Years Anniversary Gala concert. In 2012, he performed with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wollone under Michael Hofstetter in the semi-finals of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition. Most recently, Jianing performed in the final of the 2015 Santander Competition with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radiotelevisión Espanõla under Pablo González.

In 2012, Jianing was selected by the Keyboard Charitable Trust as one of their artists and was subsequently invited to give a series of recitals at venues across Europe and America, including Steinway Hall in New York and Castelton Festival Theatre in Virginia, where he performed in the presence of Maestro Christopher Eschenbach. In the same year, Jianing was also selected by the Kirckman Concert Society as one of their artists and recently gave his Wigmore Hall Debut Recital to great critical acclaim. Most recently, Jianing gave a much acclaimed tour in China, performing and giving masterclasses at the conservatoires in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

Jianing first studied at the Canton Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou and was offered a full scholarship to study at the Purcell School in 2002, where he worked with the legendary British pianist Ronald Smith. He went on to study at the Royal College of Music, graduating in 2010 with both BMus and MMus degrees. In 2011, Jianing was also awarded the prestigious RCM Mills Williams Junior Fellowship and the RCM Artist Diploma. His teachers included Ruth Nye, Gordon Fergus-Thompson, Alfredo Perland Professor Dmitri Alexeev . He also receives regular coaching and mentoring from the renowned Chinese pianist Fou Ts’ong.

Apart from a busy performing schedule, Jianing conducts masterclasses and music courses through out China and Europe. He is a professor of piano at Royal College of Music and he teaches at the Purcell School of Music.