Chinese pianist JIANING KONG began taking piano lessons at the age of
four, making his first public appearance at the age of six. In 1998,
Jianing was accepted to the Canton Conservatory of Music. In 2002, he won a
scholarship to study at the Purcell School, where he worked with the
legendary pianist Ronald Smith. Since 2004, he has been studying at the
Royal College, where he first worked with Ruth Nye, and is now a student of
Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Dmitri Alexeev.
During his time in China, Jianing won several prizes including the third
prize in the Inter-Asia Toyama competition in Hong Kong, and a prize at the
National Youth competition in Beijing. In September 2007, Jianing received
the Barcapel Prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition, and in
2008 he won Second Prize in the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert
Artist Competition. His most recent success was in the Leeds International
Piano Competition 2009 where he was a finalist and prizewinner.
Jianing has performed in numerous prestigious venues across the U.K. such as
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Cadogan Hall, Leeds Town Hall, the
Chipping-Campden Festival, Steinway Hall, the Draper’s Hall, the Mitchell
Library in Glasgow and the Wigmore Hall, as well as other European venues
such as Bechstein Centrum in Frankfurt and Salle Cortot in Paris. As a
concerto soloist he has collaborated with the Purcell School Symphony
Orchestra under Peter Stark at the Royal Academy of Music, the RCM
Sinfonietta in the world premier of Harris Kittos’s Vessel Tale, and most
recently with the Halle Orchestra under maestro Sir Mark Elder at Leeds Town
Hall.
Jianing has completed his BMus and MMus degree at the RCM, where he is
currently studying on the Artist Diploma programme and holds the prestigious
Mills Williams Junior Fellowship. Jianing’s studies have been generously
supported by the Musicians Benevolent Fund (MBF), the Philharmonia Orchestra
Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, the Derek Butler Trust, Mrs. Mountfort and
Mr Richard Carne.
May 2011