Aozhe Zhang is a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s affiliated middle school. Training since age four, he has performed all of Paganini’s 24 Caprices at just 14 and has since collaborated with major orchestras like the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras. His exceptional talent was confirmed by major awards: in 2023, he was the youngest-ever winner of China's Golden Bell Award, and in 2024, he won First prize and two special prizes at Italy's Rodolfo Lipizer Prize competition, further cementing his international reputation.
Founded in 1954, the International Violin Competition "Premio Paganini" was established to grant Genoa global prestige while discovering exceptional young talent. It has since become one of the world's most prestigious competitions, serving as a decisive springboard for legendary artists like Salvatore Accardo, Gidon Kremer, and Leonidas Kavakos. In 2022, marking Paganini’s 240th birthday, the Competition was relaunched under the motto "renew, preserving." This ambitious project upholds its supreme artistic standards while innovating in format and outreach to engage new, wider audiences and strengthen Genoa's cultural legacy at home and abroad.
