Cho-Liang Lin

Cho-Liang Lin was born in Taiwan. A neighbor’s study of the violin convinced this five-year old boy to do the same. At the age of twelve, he moved to Sydney to further his studies with Robert Pikler, a student of Jeno Hubay. After playing for Itzhak Perlman in a master class at 13, he decided that he must study with Perlman’s teacher, Dorothy DeLay. Two years later, Lin traveled alone to New York and auditioned for The Juilliard School and spent the next six years working with Ms. DeLay.

A concert career was launched in 1980 with Lin’s debut performing the Mendelssohn Concerto with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. He has since performed as soloist with virtually every major orchestra in the world, and his busy schedule on stage continues to this day. However, his wide ranging interests have led him to diverse endeavors. At age 31, The Juilliard School invited Lin to become faculty and in 2006, he was appointed professor at Rice University. He is currently music director of La Jolla SummerFest and the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. Ever so keen about education, he was music director of the Taiwan National Symphony music camp and youth orchestra for four years.

In his various professional capacities, Cho-Liang Lin has championed composers of our time. His efforts to commission new works have led to a diverse field of composers to write for him. The list includes John Harbison, Christopher Rouse, Tan Dun, John Williams, Steven Stucky, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bright Sheng, Paul Schoenfield, Lalo Schifrin, Joan Tower and many more. Recently, he was soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Nashville Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic. 

Lin performs on either the 1715 Stradivari named “Titian,” or a 2000 Samuel Zygmuntowicz. His many concerto, recital and chamber music recordings on Sony Classical, Decca, BIS, Delos and Ondine can be heard on Spotify or Naxos.com. His albums have won Gramophone Record of the Year, Grammy nominations and Penguin Guide Rosettes.

(Source: Opus 3 Artists)