Hong Xu studied at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School in the United States. A prizewinner of the Honens, Gina Bachauer, and Hilton Head international piano competitions, he studied with Liping Jiang, Rebecca Penneys, Jerome Lowenthal, and Nelita True. The New York Times described him as “a Chinese pianist of dazzling technique, keen insight, and boundless potential.”

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He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikhail Pletnev, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Sir Mark Elder, and has appeared as soloist with renowned ensembles such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, China NCPA Orchestra, BBC Orchestra, Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Portuguese National Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Macedonian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. His performances have taken him to major concert halls worldwide, including the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Place des Arts Montréal, Seoul Arts Center, and in China, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Great Hall of the People, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and Taipei National Concert Hall.

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From 2010 to 2023, Hong Xu served on the piano faculty of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, where his students achieved outstanding results. His long-running online masterclass series, Hong Xu Wu Yin Piano Class, became one of the most enduring and acclaimed public music courses on the Chinese internet.

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As a lecturer and master teacher, he has been invited to present at leading institutions around the world, including the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, New York University, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London), University of Auckland, University of Melbourne, Seoul National University, and in China, the Central Conservatory of Music, Taiwan University of the Arts, Xi’an Conservatory of Music, Xinghai Conservatory of Music, and Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. Each summer, he serves on the faculty of the Amalfi Coast International Piano Festival in Italy and the Leon Fleisher Music Festival in Washington, while in winter he directs the New Zealand International Piano Festival.

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Deeply committed to contemporary music, Hong Xu has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Gao Ping, and other composers. Over the years, he has devoted considerable research to the music of Mozart; in the coming seasons he plans to release a series of Mozart recordings and present recital programs devoted entirely to Mozart’s works.​