REVIEW: Indianapolis Competition Classical Finals Day 2 — Zhang, Zhang, Chiu in Mozart concertos

What happened

Thursday night at Butler University's Schrott Center for the Arts. Three finalists performed Mozart concertos with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), a New York-based, conductor-less ensemble. Each concerto was followed by a Fritz Kreisler encore re-scored for chamber orchestra by Jaakko Kuusisto.

Who played

Aozhe Zhang (China, 18), Xunyue Zhang (China, 22) and Karisa Chiu (United States, 27) were the three soloists on the program. Aozhe Zhang is the youngest finalist and previously won First Prize at the 58th Premio Paganini International Violin Competition. He studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music middle school with Xian He and Xinhua Liu.

The program and partners

Over two nights the finals presented Mozart's best-known violin concertos — Nos. 3, 4 and 5 — performed twice across the Classical Finals. ECCO's conductor-less format demands that soloists lead the ensemble with ensemble cues and solo leadership, a setup meant to recall the 18th-century practice when the soloist often led the orchestra.

Each concerto concluded with a Kreisler encore. The pieces performed included "Caprice Viennois" (heard in four performances across the finals), "Tambourin Chinois," and "La Gitana," all with string-ensemble parts adapted by Jaakko Kuusisto.

What stood out

• The ECCO ensemble provided a cohesive, chamber-style backdrop that tests each finalist's capacity to lead without a conductor. That setting places emphasis on communication, phrasing alignment and rhythmic clarity between soloist and ensemble.
• The variety of cadenza choices created a mix of historical lineage and personal statement. The inclusion of cadenzas by past figures like Sam Franko and modern performers like Gidon Kremer sat alongside original cadenzas by current competitors, offering listeners a sense of interpretive lineage and contemporary authorship.
• The Kreisler encores, in Kuusisto's arrangements, served as a concise stylistic counterpoint to the Mozart concertos: familiar salon-era virtuosity reconfigured for chamber ensemble.

Context within the competition

Practical takeaway for listeners

If you value seeing how young soloists lead a chamber orchestra, pay attention to communication between soloist and ECCO, and to the cadenza choices as a window into each performer's stylistic priorities. The Kreisler encores provide immediate comparisons of tone, articulation and ensemble blend after the more formal Mozart works.