Profile
Ms. Wen Qian was hailed by China Daily as “one of China’s most promising young violinists” and in a 2004 Strad magazine review titled “Rare Thrill” featuring Ms. Qian after her Carnegie Hall recital, music critic Dennis Rooney commented "it was performed with enough insight and panache to thrill a listener while at the same time raising the question of why such results are so rarely achieved."
Ms. Qian has been a first violinist with the Metropolitan Orchestra since 1997, where she continues to serve as the acting Assistant Concertmaster. On top of her busy schedule at the Met, Ms. Qian also enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician and educator throughout China, America and Europe.
Ms. Qian began to shine as concertmaster under Valery Gergiev in 1994 at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, her solos in “Scheherazade” had brought her to the front page of German newspaper “Kieler Nachrichten”. The featured review read: ” whose tenderness was as much musically correct as it was sensual; as much technically perfect as it was expressive, Wen Qian, the young concertmistress demonstrated a true sensibility and self-confidence.” Since then she has been invited to be a guest concertmaster with the Philharmonia of the Nation of Germany, Jupiter Symphony of New York, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony. As a soloist, Ms. Qian has performed with orchestras such as the Central Philharmonic of China, Beijing Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Guangzhou Symphony, South Shore Symphony, the Centre Symphony, the Met Orchestra Ensemble and the Mannes Orchestra.
Ms. Qian has also been an avid chamber musician, she has performed in music festivals and concert series including the Marlboro, Tanglewood, Sarasota festivals, and the Met Chamber Music series at Carnegie Hall as well as the Young Concert Artist Series presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She has collaborated with numerous world renowned musicians including Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchita, Leslie Parnas, Nobuko Imai, James Levine, and the members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. In the past few summers, Ms. Qian performed and coached at the Talis Music Festival in Switzerland, and Cadenza Festival in Beijing, China.
Now a Violin Professor at Mannes School of Music at The New School's College of Performing Arts, the demands for Ms. Qian’s teaching have brought her to Master Classes and coachings at the New World Symphony in Miami, New York Youth Symphony, NYU, the Central Conservatory of Beijing, Shanghai Conservatory, and various music schools in Taiwan. Since year 2000, Ms. Qian has taught the Violin Class at Mannes that focuses on orchestra auditions, and some graduates of her class have won jobs at the MET Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony and New Orleans Symphony. In 2019, she was the Artist in Residence at the NYO China, coaching the top young musicians in China. During the pandemic, Ms. Qian went to Taiwan with her family, she was invited to give over 40 masterclasses in top music schools there and also was the Artist in Residence in National Tsinghua University.
Ms. Qian studied with Felix Galimir at the Mannes School of Music in New York City where she obtained her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as well as her Professional Studies Diploma, she was awarded the highest honor of the Excellence in Performance Award upon graduation. Ms. Qian has served as the vice president of the William Lincer Foundation, and been on the panel of the New York State Council of the Arts.
Degrees Held
Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, Professional Studies Diploma, Mannes School of Music
Professional Affiliation
The Metropolitan Opera
Awards And Honors
Excellence in Performance Award, Mannes School of Music