About Wenyu

As the youngest prize winner in the history of the Queen Elizabeth Competition, Wenyu Shen is already making his mark as one of the most legendary pianists of his generation. As a child prodigy, Wenyu started concertizing at the age of nine. With over 100 hours of solo and concerto literature under his belt, Wenyu can hold several concert series without repeating any repertoire. At the present age of 21, Wenyu Shen has collaborated with over 30 orchestras around the world. Many world-renowned pedagogues predict that Wenyu Shen will become one of the greatest pianists in history.

1986 Wenyu Shen is born on October 13 in Chongqing, the People’s Republic of China.

1992 First piano lessons begin with Professor Jianping Liu at the age of six.

1993 Begins studies with Professor Daxin Zheng, one of China’s most renowned piano teachers, and learns Mozart’s Concerto for Piano in A Major K. 488.

1995 Gives his first piano solo recital series at nine years old in Chengdu and Chongqung.

1996 Performs Chopin’s First and Second Piano Concertos, and is invited to South Africa twice to give public recitals. Many dub him as the “Second Mozart.”

1997 Learns Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor with 10 hours of practice.

1998 Performs Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto for the entrance exam at the Staatliche Hochshule für Musik, Karlsruhe, Germany, and receives highest honors in school history at 12 years of age. Studies begin with Professor Gunther Hauer. During the same year, he performs both Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto and Brahms’s Second Concerto.

1999 Performs both Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” and the complete piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven.

2000 Records Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto and Chopin’s First Piano Concerto with the Poland Orchestra within one day.

2001 Attends Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany and studies with world-renowned pedagogue Professor Karl-Heinz Kämmerling.

2003 Wins 2nd Prize at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Belgium, and also receives the “Arthur de Greef” Prize. With these prestigious prizes, Wenyu becomes the youngest prize winner at 16 years old in the competition’s history.

2004 First biography is published by Difang Liao.

2005 - Present Returns to China and continues to concretize around the world.

Wenyu would like to thank the many teachers and mentors that have helped and guided him throughout his career: Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Professor Leon Fleisher, Professor Gunther Hauer, Professor Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Jianpin Liu, Professor Daxin Zheng, Professor Guangren Zhou, and Krystian Zimerman.