Viola player Diyang Mei, born in Hunan, China, in 1994, is one of the most distinguished musicians of his generation. He has been principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2022; since 2023, he has also been teaching as a visiting professor of viola at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.
Diyang Mei began his musical training at the age of five, initially on the violin. At age ten, he switched to the viola and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Shaowu Wang. In 2014, he continued his studies at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts with Hariolf Schlichtig. From 2019 to 2022, he studied with Nobuko Imai at the Kronberg Academy and subsequently served as a fellow there.
Diyang Mei gained international attention in 2018 in particular with his success at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, where he won first prize in the viola category, the Audience Prize, and several special prizes. He had previously won numerous international competitions, including the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition, the International Max Rostal Competition in Berlin, and the International Johannes Brahms Competition.
As a soloist, Diyang Mei has performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as András Schiff, Ana Chumachenco, Sabine Meyer, and Christoph Prégardien.
In 2019, Diyang Mei became principal violist of the Munich Philharmonic. In 2022, he joined the Berlin Philharmonic as first principal violist—an orchestra he had aspired to join since childhood.
Diyang Mei plays a viola by Antonio Mariani from 1646, which is on loan to him from a private collection.
