Yun Zeng Horn Recital in Cincinnati, Ohio

with Michael Chertok, piano

Young Chinese horn player Yun Zeng was born into a musical family in 1999 and started learning French horn with his father, Jie Zeng, at age six. In 2012, he was selected to the ‘Best of Best project’, specially provided to young talented musicians by the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China. As a soloist, Yun Zeng has performed some of the most renowned French horn repertoire with symphony orchestras and is currently shining on international stages.

He has had a chain of successes in international competitions: 2nd prize at The International Competition of Young Musicians in Vladivostok, Russia in 2012; 2nd prize at the Jeju International Brass Competition in South Korea – the youngest prize winner in its history; 2nd prize in the Professional Division of the 2015 International Horn Competition of America; 1st prize at the Lieksa International Horn Competition in Finland in 2016; 1st prize at the International Competition “Città di Porcia” in 2017; and 2nd prize at the Prague Spring International Competition in 2018.

In 2019 Zeng won first prize in the newly introduced brass instrument category of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 2021 he was awarded 2nd Prize in the horn category at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. In 2022, at age 22, Zeng won the audition for principal horn of one of the oldest orchestras in the world (founded in 1570), Staatskapelle Berlin, a much-coveted post for any brass player.

“Playing the French horn is like dancing on a high wire” Yun Zeng has observed, adding it is “difficult to play and probably the most difficult of all orchestral instruments…It’s not only about technique but also about a sense of beauty up there.”