Diyang Mei

Ever since violist Diyang Mei’s brilliant success at the 2018 ARD International Music Competition, winning first prize in the viola category, the Audience Prize, and several special prizes, he has been steadily furthering his international career. Since 2022, he serves as 1st Principal Viola of Berliner Philharmoniker.

As a soloist, Diyang Mei has performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Guangzhou Symphony, Hangzhou Philharmonic and China NCPA Orchestra, and at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the SWR Festival Schwetzingen, the Schwarzwald Music Festival, Mozartfest in Würzburg and Beijing Music Festival. He regularly collaborates with musicians such as Sir András Schiff, Belcea Quartett, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Enrico Pace, Boris Brovtsyn, Mihaela Martin, Frans Helmerson, Günter Pichler, Gerald Schultz, Ana Chumachenco, Sabine Meyer, Christoph Prégardien, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrández and Denis Kozhukhin among others.  In the summer of 2023 Diyang Mei has toured with Berliner Barock Solisten in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong etc. as soloist which is highly acclaimed.

Before Diyang Mei became the 1st principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker, he had held the same position with the Munich Philharmonic from 2019 to 2022. He also teaches as visiting professor at the Hochschule für Musik 'Hanns Eisler' Berlin.

He was awarded first prizes at the 52nd International Instrumental Competition for Viola in Markneukirchen (2017), at the International Max Rostal Music Competition for Viola in Berlin (2015), at the Kulturkreis Gasteig Musikpreis for Strings in Munich (2015), at the IVC Young Artist Competition in Rochester (2012), at the 19th International Johannes Brahms Viola Competition in Austria (2012) and at the 10th International Viola and Cello Competition in Villa de Llanes, Spain (2008).

The violist’s most recent CD features York Bowen and William Walton’s viola concerti, with German Radio Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern Philharmonic conducted by Brett Dean was released by SWR Classic in 2024, and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto(arranged for viola and orchestra) and Sinfonia Concertante with Berliner Barock Solisten released by Sony in the same year. Previous recording titled “Viola a L’Ecole de Paris”, was released in  2022 by the label CAvI Music. 

Diyang Mei has studied with Hariolf Schlichtig at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich, and later with Nobuko Imai at the Kronberg Academy. His instrument by Antonio Mariani from 1646 is made available to him from the Stretton Society.