Hong-Mei Xiao is a Chinese-born American violist. She won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition, and is a recipient of the Patek Philippe Grand Prize. Xiao’s career as an international soloist comprises critically acclaimed performances in major concert halls and with orchestras of great distinction throughout the world.
Early life and studies
Hong-Mei Xiao grew up in a musical family. Her father, the renowned composer Xiao Heng, provided her early violin training. Her mother, Guifang Sui, was a music teacher. As a child, Hong-Mei often played for impromptu gatherings of her parents’ friends at the family home, and throughout her youth she performed in various public venues in China. She attended the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, graduating with honors. Xiao received the Asian Cultural Council Award in 1984. She continued her musical training with violist John Graham in the United States, and received her Master of Music degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1988.
Career
Performer
Hong-Mei Xiao has toured throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia as a soloist, performing in major concert halls such as:
Xiao’s playing style has been referred to by critics as expressive, brilliant, energetic, intelligent, precise, and soulful. Stylistic critiques include:
“ played with the highest measure of ringing warmth of tone and brilliant technique” -- Berliner Morgenpost
“Her rich tone, her brilliant virtuosity and her sense of phrasing let the music express itself in a pure way." -- Geneva Tribune
"Her playing manifested an ideal velvet sonority and a purity of legato in the cantabile passages, and a prestigious and flexible technique with solidity and energy in the virtuoso passages."—The Courier
"Her soulful, expressive approach is ideally suited to this warm-hearted music." -- American Record Guide
Instruments
Xiao's primary performance instrument is a viola made by Mantegazza in 1796 in Milan.
Discography
English Works for Viola and Orchestra, Budapest Symphony Orchestra - Janos Kovacs, Conductor
Solos: Solo Works of Daniel Asia, Solo works featuring Orange for Solo Viola
The Art of Viola, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra - Janos Kovacs, Conductor
Notable awards and recognitions
1984 Asian Cultural Council Award
1987 First-prize winner of the Geneva International Music Competition
1987 Winner of the Patek Philippe Grand Prize
1988-89 United States Artistic Ambassador
2013 “Critic’s Choice Award” from American Record Guide for her CD with the Budapest Symphony of Complete Works for Viola and Orchestra by Ernest Bloch
