Recently described as “having the inner passion paired with Rubinstein’s nonchalance” by Thüringer Allgemeine in Germany, Canadian pianist Sheng Cai has embraced the keyboard tradition which epitomizes the greatness of the romantic virtuoso. His performances of major keyboard works of the past centuries have touched audiences and won the praise of critics on four continents. The Toronto Star headlined : “This is a young man with real talent … from a clear, singing tone to a subtle sense of rubato to a judicious choice of tempi,” and the Birmingham News described him as a pianist playing “with great confidence [which] gave more lucidity, color and power.” Sheng Cai has been honoured with a number of prizes and awards and continues to push the boundaries both the established and rarities of the piano literature.
Since winning the top prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) Competition and Toronto Symphony’s competition at just fifteen years old, Sheng Cai has performed a broad spectrum of concerto repertoire from Mozart to 21st century composers with invitations to over 30 orchestras worldwide as guest soloist. Recent concerto performances include invitations to perform with many great orchestras such as Toronto Symphony, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Calgary Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony, in Germany with Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt, Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach, Krakow Philharmonic of Poland, North Bohemian Philharmonic of Czech Republic, Orchestre national de Cannes in France, Jalisco Philharmonic of Mexico, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá in Colombia among many others. He has recently worked with many conductors such as Keith Lockhart, Yoav Talmi, David Lockington, Robert Moody, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Myron Michailidis, Eduard Topchjan, Donato Cabrera, Robert Franz, Dina Gilbert, Guoyong Zhang, Marco Parisotto, and Eckart Preu.
In solo recitals, Sheng Cai has been heard in many prestigious venues in North America, such as Steinway Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, Chicago’s international Music Center, the Cleveland Play House, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and other distinguished venues in Stratford, Elora, Montréal and Winnipeg. As a chamber musician, Sheng Cai has collaborated with a number of fine artists, including the Enso String Quartet. Many of his performances have been broadcast on radio stations across the world such as France Musique, Czech Radio, CBC Radio-Canada and WCLV Radio station in United States.
Sheng Cai began his studies in Canada and United States where he was a student at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the Juilliard School’s pre-college division in New York. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree under full scholarship at The New England Conservatory in Boston. His teachers and mentors include pianists Anton Kuerti, Gary Graffman, and Russell Sherman.
