Last week, Xian Zhang returned to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for three subscription concerts on the 17-19 October, conducting Mozart’s Symphony 39, Chen Yi’s Landscape Impression and Schumann’s Piano Concerto, with pianist Jonathan Biss.
The reviews Xian received were unanimous in their praise:
“The best-matched and most perfectly integrated rendition of this beloved masterpiece [Schumann’s Piano Concerto] that I have ever heard…This requires perfect coordination between pianist and conductor, and watching as closely as I listened, I perceived this close harmony throughout…A prolonged standing ovation ensued…Xian Zhang brought all [the] disparate Chinese-American gestures together with expert control…her complete attentiveness… her ability to communicate with the perfectly alert ensemble that responded and produced so well. She made an excellent match for a program as eclectic as this one” – Mark DeVoto, Boston Music Intelligencer
“Xian Zhang raises the bar…the almost omnipresent, radiant smile on Zhang’s face… Zhang landed on the podium like a dynamo…her presence was commanding and magnetic…Zhang led orchestra and audience on an effervescent joyride through Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, deftly shaping drastic dynamic shifts and maintaining a translucent texture throughout. It was almost impossible to not mirror Zhang’s smile, especially in the finale…I can’t wait to see what she brings to Symphony Hall next” – A.Z. Madonna, Boston Globe
A popular guest of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Zhang returns to both orchestras during 2024/25. Following her superb debut at The Metropolitan Opera with Madama Butterfly, Zhang returns this season to conduct David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s Tosca.
Currently in her 9th season as Music Director of New Jersey Symphony, Xian Zhang was recently appointed by Seattle Symphony as their new Music Director from 2025/26.
Photo: Michael J. Lutch, courtesy of the BSO