Cliburn 2009: May 22 - June 7
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closeFriday, May. 15, 2009
Cliburn Confidential: Zhang Zuo
A series of conversations with the Cliburn competitors
Zhang Zuo
(Pronounced jaang jore)
Nationality: Chinese
Born: Shenzhen, China
Lives: Rochester, N.Y. (Zuo is a student at Eastman School of Music and expects to graduate in spring 2010.)
Age: 20
Pre-concert jitters: Zuo admits that she gets nervous backstage, which she channels to better her performances. "Once I get nervous, I actually get excited when I go onstage," Zuo says.
Post-concert rewind: "After a concert, it’s really hard to fall asleep immediately," Zuo says. "It always takes awhile to get myself calm. If there was something I was not satisfied with, I’ll think about it. The next day I’ll go to the keyboard and work it out."
Favorite composers: Bach, Schubert and Brahms. "Bach is the fundamental of every kind of music," Zuo says. "He predicted a lot of the more modern music. His music is all polyphonic [made up of separate but interconnected melody lines]. In that way it is very complex. It is like math."
Chamber music: Zuo loves playing chamber music. In her first year at Eastman, her piano quintet played in China. Her second year she played in a clarinet trio. This year she has played in a piano duo whose repertoire includes Rachmaninoff, Milhaud and Mozart. "I’m always having a lot of fun," Zuo says.
Favorite meals: "Of course, I like all kinds of Chinese food," Zuo says. "I don’t cook — I live in the dorm."
Cliburn dreams: "That stage is very special," Zuo says. "I think I’ll learn a lot from the other competitors. I want to be a performer. Nothing could be better than sharing my musical ideas with an audience. I also love teaching; in that way I think I can always learn music forever."
— Chris Shull, Special to the Star-Telegram
Bass Hall
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