Xiaolu Li

A cellist with natural charisma, rich musical sensitivity and perception, Xiaolu Li was born in China, and became known as a prodigious talent from a very young age.

Xiaolu has appeared extensively around the world, such as with the Swiss Bill Symphony Orchestra, with whom she performed Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto, at the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, where she performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Theme Variations with the Shanghai Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, the Edinburgh Chamber Music Festival, the European Arts Festival in Austria, the Musikalischer Sommer in Ostfriesland Music Festival. Equally at home in chamber music, she is a founding member of the X’cret Piano Trio and, with her string quartet, she has won the International Chamber Music Competition in Shanghai.

Xiaolu Li studied at the University of Music Karlsruhe, and she continued with postgraduate studies at the Hannover University of Music, Theatre and Media, and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. She also has degrees from the ESMUC Barcelona and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Throughout her musical education, she was mentored by such renowned musicians as Tilmann Wick, Christoforo Pestalozzi, Istvan Vardai, and Cao Min, among others. She participated in various music festivals and master-classes including the Festival Pablo Casals de Prades, the Biel Music Festival, the Casalmaggiore Music Festival, and the Rutesheim Cello Academy, where she received lessons from renowned cellists such as Arto Noras, Leonid Gorokhov, Claudio Bohorquez, Bernhard Gmelin, Emil Covner, Niklas Schmidt, Wen-Sinn Yang, Peter Wispelwey and Martti Rousi.

Xiaolu is also a dedicated educator, who has helped many young musicians to develop their own talents and passion for music. She was invited to give masterclasses at Musikalische Sommer Ostfriesland in 2019. In addition, she is the founder and the Artistic Director of Rhein International Music Festival & Academy – a German-Chinese culture exchange. Xiaolu currently resides in Frankfurt.