It’s always a thrill for fans to find a fresh voice in the world of classical and modern music, particularly from gifted young musicians who have brilliant careers ahead of them and infinite surprises to deliver for years to come. This weekend, local fans will be treated with two concerts performed by young talents.

Jazz piano recital

On Saturday night, 23-year-old A Bu will perform his own works and those of legendary Russian pianist and composer Nikolai Kapustin. The program will include Kapustin’s “Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40,” “Andante, Op. 58” and “Variations, Op. 41” as well as original compositions from A Bu’s latest album “New Memories.”

Praised by Kapustin as one of the most promising young pianists today, A Bu collaborated with the Moscow Jazz Orchestra at the world premiere of several Kapustin’s works in Moscow in 2017, to mark the master’s 80th birthday.

Born in Beijing in 1999, A Bu started to play the piano at age 4. At 9, he began to be fascinated by improvisation and started playing jazz. At age 15 he won the First Prize and Audience Choice of the prestigious Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition (2015 edition).

Possessing the qualities of a professional classical pianist and under the influence of jazz idioms, A Bu plays in a lyrical style with clarity and an exquisite sense.

Having completed his degree in piano performance at The Juilliard School, he is on a national tour in China this summer vacation after releasing a new album with labels NCPA Classics in association with Wergo.

“I would feel sorry if I had spent all my life performing other people’s creations, without leaving some room to let my own voice heard on my favorite instrument,” said A Bu，who was called an “accomplished jazz pianist and also a gifted composer” by Grammy winner Michel Camilo.

Time: 8 p.m., Aug. 13

Tickets: 80-380 yuan

Viola and piano

Chinese violist Mei Diyang will perform Bach’s “Partita for Violin No. 2, BWV1004, Chaconne,” Schubert’s “Sonata in A Minor, D. 821, Arpeggione,” Knox’s “Quartet for One” and Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64” (arranged for viola and piano by Borisovsky).

Huang Qiuning, associate professor with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, will accompany Mei on the piano.

Mei has been the first principal violist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra since the fall of 2019. In October 2022, he will become the principal violist of the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since his success at the 2018 ARD International Music Competition, winning first prize in the viola category, the Audience Prize and several special prizes, Mei has been steadily furthering his international career. His first solo album “Transforming Viola” was released in 2019. His second album “Viola à L’Ecole de Paris” was released in June 2022.

Particularly adept at his interpretation of lyrical works of the Romantic era, Mei, with his superb skills and profound understanding of the music, has won over fans for the viola, a lesser known and less popular string instrument with not many solo works written for it.

Time: 8 p.m., Aug. 14

Tickets: 50-380 yuan

Booking: WeChat account “szyyt_piao”

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (福田区深圳音乐厅)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D (Li Dan)