Rising Auckland stars in concerto comp finals

 This year's National Concerto Competition, whose previous winners have included veteran concert pianist Michael Houston and virtuoso violinist Amalia Hall, features two of three finalists who are students of Stephen De Pledge, head of piano at the University’ School of Music.

Henry Meng is a current Bachelor of Music student, excelling in both performance piano and composition, and Shan Liu is a Year 10 piano student at Westlake Boys High School.

De Pledge says Henry has been one of the University’s most awarded students in recent years and will playing “the fiendishly difficult” Piano Concerto no.2 by Brahms.

“Henry has had great competition and concert success in the past few years as both a pianist and composer.”

And he’s been teaching young Shan Liu for more than five years.

“Shan, who will be playing Tchaikovsky’s concerto no.1, is also doing remarkable performances around the country.”

De Pledge says University of Auckland students have achieved great results in the past in this competition, which is for classical musicians aged 25 and under.

“In fact, since 2007, there have been Auckland students in every single piano iteration of the competition finals, often resulting in a first place.”

A distinguished pianist with a diverse musical background himself, De Pledge initially trained in viola and oboe, but later focused on piano, studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he won multiple awards.

After further studies in Paris and a fellowship at London's Royal College of Music, he made debut performances at major venues like the Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls and has performed with renowned orchestras and musicians worldwide.

He has a rich discography spanning composers as diverse as Shostakovich, Brahms, and Prokofiev, as well as an interest in contemporary music, premiering numerous works and recording extensively for BBC Radio 3 and Naxos.

Joining the competition adjudicators this year is School of Music professional teaching fellow Rachel Fuller, herself a highly respected concert pianist and educator.

Shan Liu and Henry Meng, alongside third finalist Otis Prescott-Mason from Wellington, will be performing with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra under the baton of New Zealand Symphony Orchestra music director emeritus, James Judd.

The 57th National Concerto Competition finals will be held on 22 March at 7pm in the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium at the Christchurch Town Hall.

It will be recorded for later broadcast by RNZ Concert.