The 2026 Festival

Alex Lau (b. 2002) is a Hong Kong–born cellist active across Europe, the United States, and Asia. He has performed at leading international academies and festivals, including the Seiji Ozawa International Academy (Switzerland), the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival (USA), NUME Academy & Festival (Italy), the Pau Casals Festival (Spain), Villars Music Academy (Switzerland), the Geneva International String Academy, the Schiermonikoog Festival (Netherlands) and the Daniel Hope Academy (Germany).

Alex Lau has collaborated with artists including Antje Weithaas, Robert McDonald, Ani Kavafian, Mi-kyung Lee, Daniel Hope, Roland Glassl, Jonathan Brown, Catherine Cho, Ara Gregorian and Michael Kannen and he has appeared in concert venues including Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Berliner Philharmonie, Hong Kong City Hall, Auditorium Pau Casals, and Flagey in Brussels. His artistic development has been shaped through masterclasses with prominent musicians including Frans Helmerson, Misha Maisky, Gary Hoffman, Tabea Zimmermann, Pavel Gililov, Nobuko Imai, Sadao Harada, Kazuki Yamada, Yeesun Kim, Colin Carr and Antonio Lysy.

A dedicated chamber musician, Alex Lau has collaborated with choreographer Jacopo Godani and the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company in projects combining contemporary dance with works including Bach’s Cello Suites, Ligeti’s Solo Sonata, and Kodály’s Solo Sonata, touring Germany and Italy.

As a soloist, he has appeared with the Südwestdeutsche Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Camerata Chişinău, and various youth orchestras, collaborating with conductors including Douglas Bostock and Ulrich Kern. In 2025, he gave a recital with pianist Naoko Sonoda as part of the Hong Kong Artists Series, presented by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, with a broadcast on Radio Television Hong Kong.

Prizewinner at several international competitions, Alex Lau received First Prize at the Beijing Ai Qin International Cello Competition, Second Prize at the Heran International Cello Competition, and a Special Prize at the Dotzauer International Cello Competition. He was a semifinalist at both the IsangYun International Cello Competition and the Khachaturian Cello Competition, and has been invited by conductor Christoph Poppen to serve as Guest Principal Cellist of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta during the 2025/26 season.

A recipient of scholarships from Villa Musica, Live Music Now Munich, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund, Alex Lau began his studies in Hong Kong before continuing in Dresden and Munich. His principal teachers include Laurent Perrin, Norbert Anger, and Wen-Sinn Yang, and he is currently pursuing his Master’s degree with Julian Steckel in Munich.

Alex Lau is also the co-founder of the Löwenberg Kammermusikfest in Munich, established together with his brother, violist Gordon Lau.