Hou attacked Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances and Ravel’s Tzigane with the gutsy sound of a gypsy fiddler. Her intonation on the sustained high string passages was spot-­on and she mixed softly caressing moments with an appealingly wiry sound that encapsulated the music’s folk roots.
Miami Herald

Her sound is strangely strong yet delicate; her technique near flawless.
The Strad

Few can play the minefield of flash and dazzle concocted by Nicolo Paganini for his Violin Concerto No. 1 so convincingly as Yi-­Jia Susanne Hou. Her astonishing performance caused jaws to sag. Hou’s technical mastery is astonishing […] she balanced intensity with delicacy…’
The Chronicle Herald 

The highlight of the concert was Yi-Jia Susanne Hou… Her silvery interpretation of the Bach Concerto and the pre-romantic vocalise of the Mozart Concerto was quite bewitchingly colourful and enchantingly youthful.
Nordbayerischer Kurier

Born to a musical family, Chinese-Canadian violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou rose to fame on the international concert scene when she unanimously won three prestigious international violin competitions in France, Italy, and Spain (Long-Thibaud, Lipizer, Sarasate) representing both Canada and China.

Since then Susanne Hou has performed as soloist with major orchestras in over 50 countries including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, SWR Stuttgart, WDR Cologne as well as Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic and NHK. She has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman, Alan Gilbert, JoAnn Faletta, Andreas Delfs, Marek Janowski, Alexander Shelley, Krzysztof Urbański, Hana-Chang and Gemma New among others.

In 2013 Susanne Hou recorded the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra playing an outstanding 1735 ex-­Fritz Kreisler Mary Portman Guarneri Del Gesu Violin as a tribute to its unique history. In 2016 she performed and recorded the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor John Nelson at London’s Cadogan Hall, a work she successfully toured with in China and Taiwan.

Her recent and future engagements include German tour with Sinfonietta Cracovia, a return to Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, an extensive recital and concert tour to South Africa working with Cape, Johannesburg and Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestras as well as a recital at Flaneries Musicales de Reims, concerts with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Canada as well as Folsom Lake Symphony and Stockton Symphony Orchestra in the US.

Earlier this year Susanne Hou embarked on a live recording project of Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin performed in one take without intermission or edits for future release. The project was made possible with the kind support of The Canada Council for the Arts.

Susanne Hou is a passionate advocate for music education. She consistently engages in creative projects involving early classical music coaching as well as mentoring aspiring young artists. Launched in 2017 her education initiative called "3-degrees" began in Brazil where Susanne Hou worked with inspired musical students from underprivileged background. Subsequently  she partnered with DakApp bringing young artists from The Juilliard School in New York, Royal College of Music in London, Beijing Central Conservatory, and the Paris Conservatoire to London for the filming of masterclass with orchestra which is now available online via DakApp to students all over the world.

www.susannehou.com

Season 2024/25