Toad Lane Concerts: Shuwei Zuo violin and Hector Leung piano

Shuwei Zuo and Hector Leung

The audience was treated to a sensational virtuoso performance from Chinese violinist Shuwei Zuo, who has recently completed her Performance Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).

Shuwei began playing at the age of 5, then after specialist music school, she gained a place at the Central Conservatory of Music in Bejing in 2014, whilst also being commended at the New York Summit Festival.

In 2018, she undertook a master’s at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

She has consistently played chamber and solo concerts in China and the UK, receiving many excellent reviews. She is now second violin with the Ink Quartet and a freelance musician based in the UK.

Hector Leung Wai Hang gained his Master’s degree and FRSM Diploma with distinctions in 2017.

Prior to that he won many awards including first prizes in both the International Pianist Association and the Youth Piano competitions in Hong Kong, 2013. He returned to the RNCM from 2019 to 2021 as Junior Fellow in Accompaniment.

Their playing of Schubert’s Violin sonatina in D, Op 137 no.1 was elegant, fluent and charming yet with passion and energy. ShuWei has an engaging and enthusiastic personality which comes through in her succinct introductions and wonderful playing.

Fresh from her performance of it the previous month with the Todmorden Orchestra she threw herself into Max Bruch’s popular Scottish Fantasy Op 46 (incidentally premiered in 1881 in Liverpool). Here Hector made a superb job of the orchestral parts in accompaniment. The four movements each use a Scottish tune with varied fantastical developments to make full use of the instrument’s expressive qualities. This all leads to a fiery finale, which is aptly styled Allegro guerriero (a warlike allegro). Or, as Shuwei herself introduced it, ‘like a drunken soldier’ – a wee dram too many perhaps? Certainly, this was spirited but finely judged and stunning playing from a rising star.

The award-winning Toad Lane Concerts are on Wednesdays at 12.30pm at St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ. Entrance fee is £6. No refreshments available now, but the venue is Covid-19 compliant. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.

To see the April & May 2022 programme, click here.

Dr Joe Dawson