August 6, 2002
Tuesday, 8 PM
Seminar: "Chi and Music"
Prof. Hung-Kuan Chen
       

The Speaker: Professor Hung-Kuan Chen

"Back in the '80's, Apollo and Dionysus, Florestan and Eusebius, were at war 
in Chen's pianistic personality. He could play with poetic insight, he could 
also erupt into an almost terrifying overdrive. But now there is the repose 
and the forces have been brought into complimentary harmony. ....This man 
plays music with uncommon understanding and the instrument with uncommon 
imagination!" Richard Dyer, Boston Globe. (January 1999)

Mr. Hung-Kuan Chen is probably the most decorated pianist in Boston. He won 
the Gold Medals both in Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master 
Competition in Israel and the Feruccio Busoni International Piano 
Competitions in Italy. He gathered prizes in Geza Anda, the Queen Elisabeth 
and the Chopin competitions and when the New York Times failed to cover 
Chen's Alice Tully debut, after winning Young Concert Artists, Ruth Laredo in 
another NY publication exclaimed, "rarely have I heard such eloquence and 
musical understanding. Is anyone listening?" 

A true recitalist, he has performed in major venues worldwide. In New York at 
Carnegie and Merkin Halls, Davis Hall in San Francisco, Jordan, Symphony and 
Sanders Theatres in Boston. In Europe Mr. Chen performed at the Hercules 
Saal, Salla Verdi Milan. He has played in halls in Bejing, Tapei, Japan, 
Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Munich, Zurich, and in many cities in Canada. He 
has performed the complete Beethoven Sonata cycle, the Chopin Preludes & 
Etudes in recital and recorded under the BMG label. He has collaborated with 
such conductors as Christoph Eschenbach, Andrew Parrett, George Cleve, 
Becker, Yuav Talmi, Uri Segal, Silverstein, Sui Lan, and Hans Graf and Henry 
Mazer, Mr. Chen has been a soloist with orchestras such as Pittsburgh, 
Baltimore, Houston, Grant Park, Colorado, Montreal, Tonhalle, Jerusalem, and 
the Israel Symphony.

Hung-Kuan Chen believes in making music with others and has collaborated with 
Yo-Yo Ma, Jimmy Lin, Anthony Gigliotti, Lawrence Lesser, Pi-hsien Chen, Peter 
Eotvos, Anthony diBonaventura. He formed a piano duo with pianist Tema 
Blackstone and has worked with the Tokyo String Quartet, the Shanghai String 
Quartet, and many others.

As a pedagogue, he has inspired a studio of international caliber. He taught 
at Boston University since 1984, himself just 25 years old. A faculty member 
of New England Conservatory and Walnut Hill since 1993, he is also very 
involved with the Music Bridge program in China where he helps choose 
brilliant young students to come study in Canada, where he is presently 
based, as artist in residence at Mount Royal Conservatory and University of 
Calgary with his partner. 

Summer Music Festival