Biography

The cellist LiLa (born 2002), now based in Berlin, is considered one of the most exciting cellists of her generation. In her native China, she has been celebrated as a rising star since her teenage years, and the young artist is increasingly attracting special attention across Europe as well.

LiLa is a multiple first-prize winner at international competitions, including first prizes at the 43rd Stulberg International String Competition, the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Moscow—where she also became the youngest prizewinner in the history of the competition—and the 13th Osaka International Music Competition. In addition, she won the Grand Prix at the 24th Flame International Music Competition in Paris.

In recent seasons, LiLa has already performed at numerous internationally renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Verbier Festival, Zurich Tonhalle, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Shanghai Symphony Hall, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.

Among the orchestras with which the young cellist has appeared as a soloist are the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Prague Royal Philharmonic, Moscow Virtuosi, Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. She has collaborated with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov, Long Yu, Heiko Mathias Förster, and Muhai Tang.

In the field of chamber music, LiLa has performed with musicians such as András Schiff, Janine Jansen, Kirill Gerstein, Dénes Várjon, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer, Antje Weithaas, Tabea Zimmermann, and Antoine Tamestit.

LiLa began playing the cello at the age of seven. At nine, she became a student of Professor Min Cao at the Middle School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2016, she continued her studies at the Pre-College of the Juilliard School with Professor Richard Aaron and Sieun Lin. From 2018 to 2025, LiLa studied at the Kronberg Academy with Professor Frans Helmerson, completing her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Professional Studies degrees there. Since October 2025, she has been studying with Professor Nicolas Altstaedt at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. LiLa plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino from the 1690s, kindly loaned to her by Beare’s International Violin Society.

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Audio/Video

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Photos

 (c) LIN

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Concerto repertoire

Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56

Schelomo – Hebrew Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra

Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68

Concerto for Cello in B-flat Major G.482

Concerto for Cello in B Minor, Op. 104/B 191

Concerto for Cello in E Minor, Op. 85

Concerto for Cello No. 1 in C Major, H 7b no 1
Concerto for Cello No. 2 in D Major, Op. 101/H 7b no 2

Cello Concerto in D Minor

Sinfonia Concertante in E Minor, Op. 125

Concerto for Cello No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33

Concerto for Cello in A Minor

Concerto for Cello No. 1 in E flat Major, Op. 107

Don Quixote, Op. 35

Variations for Cello and Orchestra on Rococo Theme, Op. 33

Double Cello Concerto in G Minor RV 531

Cello Concerto, Op. 68

– LiLa (cello), Julia Hamos (piano) –

Program 2

Romance for Piano and Violoncello, Op. 69

Sonata for Piano and Violoncello, FP 143

Suite for Violoncello Solo

—— Intermission ——

Berceuse Op. 16

Sonata for Piano and Violoncello in G minor, Op. 65

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Program 3

Pohádka

Three Romances, Op. 94

Pampeana No. 2, Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, Op. 21

—— Intermission ——

Suite Populaire Espagnole

Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major

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Programm 4

Suite Italienne

Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 3 in A Major

——— Intermission ———

– Valse Sentimentale arranged for cello and piano

Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2, Op. 99

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Programm 5 (cello, bandoneon, piano)

– LiLa (cello), Omar Massa (composition, bandoneon), Julia Hamos (piano) –

compositions + arrangements for cello, bandoneon

Cafe 1930

– Tango Lullaby
– Caminos y Desvios

compositions + arrangements for cello, bandoneon and piano

– Tangata (10 min)

Omar Massa
– Tango Meditation n1 (4:30 min)
– Buenos Aires Ritual (4:40 min)
– Buenos Aires Resonances (5 min)
– Kageliana (4 min)
– Canto del Payun Matru (5 min)
– Tango Legacy (5:30 min)
Tango Scherzo (Encore)

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