A spirio watch series : YANGMINGTIAN ZHAO
Steinway Spiriocast featuring Steinway Artist Yangmingtian Zhao from Shanghai
23rd January 2026 | 18.00 hrs.
Steinway Thailand proudly kicks off this year’s Spirio Watch Series with an exclusive Spiriocast featuring Steinway Artist Yangmingtian Zhao.
Performing live from Shanghai, Zhao presents a refined selection of piano masterpieces, including Liszt’s evocative Les Cloches de Genève, Chopin’s luminous Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2, and Debussy’s ethereal Pagodes, transmitted in real time through the Steinway Spirio|r with unparalleled precision and expressive nuance.
Experience the elegance and artistry of his performance, broadcast live from Shanghai and delivered with extraordinary fidelity through the world’s finest high-resolution player piano, at the Steinway & Sons Showroom, Thailand.
prograM
Les Cloches de Genève
from Années de Pèlerinage
I. Suisse
Franz Liszt
Impromptu Op. 90, No. 2
Franz Schubert
Nocturne Op. 27, No. 2
Frédéric Chopin
Les Chemins de l'Amour
Francis Poulenc
Valse Suite for Piano "Three-Fours"
Op. 71, No. 2
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Spanish Dance No. 5
Enrique Granados
"Pagodes" from Estampes
Claude Debussy
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
Franz Liszt
PERFORMER
Steinway Artist Dr. Yangmingtian Zhao has been hailed as ‘an elegant and sincere artist with a sensitive…magic touch designed for an international career’. Dr. Zhao is currently an assistant professor at the Sun Yat-sen University in China and appointed as the president of WPTA, China (World Piano Teachers Association). Before moving back to China, Dr. Zhao was a faculty at the Northwestern University in the USA. In the past several years, Dr. Zhao has been slated to appear in several concert halls in various countries including the US, France, Italy, Hungary, Singapore, and China. The prestigious venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Cultural Center in Chicago, Kauffman Center in Kansas City, Esplanade in Singapore, Shanghai Concert Hall, Guangzhou Opera House, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Chateau de Fontainebleau in France, and Teleki-Wattay Castle in Hungary. In 2011, after his solo recital at the Esplanade Recital Hall in Singapore, a local newspaper carried the following comment: “Ever wondered what celebrity pianists Lang Lang and Li Yundi were like before they became really famous?” In 2018, his concert at the Carnegie Hall was praised as “beautifully shone with lightning-fast virtuosity and quicksilver dynamic changes” by New York Concert Review.
Dr. Zhao has collaborations with many distinguished orchestras and musicians. He has performed concertos with Budafok Dohnányi orchestra in Hungary, Changsha symphony orchestra, Beijing symphony orchestra, Lanzhou symphony orchestra in China. In the US, he was invited to play with Northwestern University symphony orchestra, the University of Kansas symphony orchestra. Between 2016-2019, Dr. Zhao served as the harpsichordist in resident at the Alice Millar Chapel in Chicago to present ten concerts with Alice Millar Baroque Ensemble. Dr. Zhao also partnered with the Hungarian Clarinetist Bence Specezi to tour in the North America and Asia between 2018-2019 and released their album. Recently, Dr. Zhao has also extended crossover cooperation with artists from various brands and different fields, such as K11 in Hong Kong, Giada in Italy, Uniqlo in Japan, and YUNĒ in Guangzhou.
Despite his young age, Dr. Zhao’s sensation is also active in music teaching. At the Sun Yat-sen university, he is the founder of the western music history, and music theory courses for a 100-year-old institution. He also teaches piano performance with exploring interdisciplinary studies such as art history. In piano field, Dr. Zhao has a particular focus on the technical aspects of performance, which brings him to specialize on the topics of Carl Czerny, Theodor Leschetizky, Franz Liszt, and as well as the interprofessional research between music and painting. He has regularly taught masterclass as a visiting lecturer in numerous important music festivals and colleges, such as Adam Gyorgy Academy in Hungary, Amalfi Coast Festival in Italy, the American University in Washington D.C, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu. In China, his online courses about Carl Czerny have received over sixty- thousand registrations and more than a half million views in his other various online courses. In the past two years, the pupils of Dr. Zhao have been admitted to John Hopkins University, Columbia University, Southern California University, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Toronto, Cincinnati Conservatory, and Oberlin Conservatory. Recently, Dr. Zhao was also appointed to judge the 10th Steinway Youth Competition, the Wefon International Piano Competition, and the Oxford International Youth Competition.
Since taking part in the Hong Kong Mozart Competition in 2003, where he was the Second Prizewinner, Dr. Zhao has received numerous international accolades. He won the Gold Award at the China Central Television’s Youth Piano Competition in 2004, as well as the “Kadenza” Youth Competition in China three years later, where he was also the First Prizewinner. In 2010, at the inaugural International Chopin Piano Competition held in Singapore, Dr. Zhao charmed a local audience and an international jury to sweep both the Audience Prize as well as the Second Prize. A local reviewer praised the “vast palette of sound and emotions” displayed in his “awe-inspiring” performance. A year later, Dr. Zhao again won the Audience Prize and was placed Second in The International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition 2011 held in Lawrence, Kansas. In 2012, he was second runner-up at the World International Piano Competition; at the Golden Era of Romantic Music International Competition, held in celebration of the bicentenary of Franz Liszt, he won the First Prize – this led to a successful debut at Carnegie Hall in May 2012. In 2015, Dr. Zhao won the audience prize in Ravel Competition in Fontainebleau, France.
Dr. Zhao started college at the age of sixteen at Nanyang academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, honing his performance skills under Steinway Artist Mr. Benjamin Loh. In 2014, Dr. Zhao received his bachelor degree at the University of Kansas with honor, under mentorship of Steinway Artist Steven Spooner. Subsequently, Dr. Zhao received a full scholarship for completing Master degree at Rice University under distinctive Steinway Artist Dr. Robert Roux. In 2021, Dr. Zhao was awarded the Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree in piano performance and pedagogy, a dual degree program in Northwestern University.
LOCATION
Steinway & Sons Showroom
#1F-04 Gaysorn Center, 1st Floor
999 Phloen Chit Rd., Lumpini, Bangkok
For your information and etiquette
- This is a free-seating event.
- Strictly no liquids or food should be brought into the showroom.
- Kindly maintain decorum upon entry and be conscious of your belongings (e.g., bags, rings, watches, cameras) around the instruments.
- During the performance, kindly wait for the conclusion of a piece or an intermission to enter the audience seating area.
- Parking validation has to be done directly with the Gaysorn Concierge.