Cheng-Zong Yin 殷承宗,  Pianist

Chengzong Yin, one of the world's leading pianists, was born on China's "Piano Island" of Gulangyu in Xiamen, Fujian Province. He gave his first recital at age nine. Three years later he entered the pre-college of the Shanghai Conservatory, later transferred to the Central Conservatory in Beijing. Mr. Yin traveled to Russia in 1960s to study with Tatiana Kravchenko, and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory and Central Conservatory in Beijing.

He has won numerous awards, including the gold medal at the World Youth Peace and Friendship Festival held in Vienna in 1959 and second prize in the 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Mr. Yin made his debut in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1983 and has returned five times as a soloist. The New York Times has called him "China's best pianist." Throughout his career Mr. Yin has touched millions of souls with his music. Bernard Holland of the New York Times wrote that he demonstrated an "absolutely beautiful command of piano colors."

Through the years, Mr. Yin has traveled worldwide, performing under the baton of Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sir Malcolm Sargent and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also appeared in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, and at Lincoln Center. His numerous interviews were featured on China's Central Television and CBS Sunday Morning. Formerly a professor and artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Yin now lives in New York City.

Mr. Yin is not only a virtuoso interpreter of Western masters, he is also a composer of highly renowned piano pieces. His piano arrangements and interpretations of traditional Beijing opera and other classic Chinese music, combined with his contribution to the Yellow River Concerto have made him a household name in China. His recording of the latter piece received a Gold Record award, which has already over 3 million copies sold. He has become a legend in the music world and is one of four Chinese musicians who are listed in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1980.

Mr. Yin has released more than 20 albums, among them recent releases of an all-Chopin CD and a recording of Debussy's Preludes, super CDs of The Seasons by Tchaikovsky, and various Chinese ancient and traditional pieces arranged by Mr. Yin and others. His recordings of the Yellow River Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic was released recently.

In autumn of 2002, Mr. Yin brought the prestigious Fourth Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians to his hometown, Xiamen, China, where he served as the Head Chairman of the Competition. He also served on the jury of the Third China International Piano Competition in 2004. The year 2005 marks the 55th anniversary of Mr. Yin's musical career. His extensive tours in North America and China during the year have included more than a dozen major cities in North America and China. In September and October of 2005, Mr. Yin performed the "Yellow River" Concerto at the Grand Theatre of Beijing's Palace for Nationalities and New York's Carnegie Hall respectively, marking the 35th anniversary of this work which he worked on as the primary composer and premiered in 1970. Mr. Yin has so far given seven performances in Carnegie's main hall.

During the season of 2006-07, Mr. Yin performed during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 50th anniversary of the founding of China National Orchestra. And in July of 07, he was invited to perform in Hong Kong with the China Philharmonic in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China - his Yellow River Concerto deeply touched the audience and, as the main composer and premier performer, his performance also revived the popular passion for the masterpiece.

In early 2007, Mr. Yin travelled to Brisbane and Melbourne of Australia and gave three performances there to sold-out audiences. His tour in Australia also marks the realization of his decades-long dream to perform on all five continents of the world.

In February 2008, Mr. Yin worked with the China National Orchestra to give their first-ever performance in the newly-opened China National Grand Theatre to mark the Chinese lunar new year. The concert was orgazined by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV and broadcast live around the world.

Beginning in 2008, Mr. Yin embarked on an effort to produce ten recital programs basing on different composers and styles. The project will span three to five seasons. The first two programs have been completed and played in over 60 concerts in China and North America in the past year. He will continue to launch new programs in the coming seasons.

(2009)

殷承宗是當代中國最負盛名的鋼琴家之一 , 出生於有"音樂搖籃"之美譽的廈門鼓浪嶼 。九歲時即舉行了個人鋼琴獨奏音樂會 。十二歲進入上海音樂學院附中 , 隨後轉到中央音樂學院繼續學習 。六十年代 , 到列寧格勒音樂學院隨 塔季亞娜.克拉夫琴科(Tatiana Kravchenko)深造 。他畢業於列寧格勒音樂學院和中央音樂學院 , 曾任中央樂團首席鋼琴演奏家 。他贏得了很多獎項 , 包括1959年維也納世界青年節鋼琴比賽的第一名 ; 1962年莫斯科柴可夫斯基國際音樂比賽鋼琴比賽第二名 。

1983年 , 殷承宗先生首次在美國紐約卡內基音樂廳演出 。他被《紐約時報》譽為"中國最優秀的鋼琴家" 。在殷承宗的演奏生涯中 , 他的演奏感染了無數人的心靈 。《紐約時報》的伯恩納德•霍蘭德(Bernard Holland)寫道 : 他顯示出"絕對優美的鋼琴音色" 。

殷承宗的足跡遍及世界各地 , 曾經和他合作過的指揮和樂團有 : 尤金.奧曼迪(Eugene Ormandy)指揮的費城管弦樂團 , 克勞迪奧.阿巴多(Claudio Abbado)指揮的維也納愛樂樂團 , 基里爾.康德拉申(Kirill Kondrashin)指揮的莫斯科愛樂樂團 , 馬爾科姆.薩金特爵士(Sir Malcolm Sargent)指揮的聖彼德堡愛樂樂團 。他還曾在波士頓、舊金山、芝加哥、多倫多和林肯中心演出 。他的專訪多次在中央電視台播出並曾經在CBS的《週日早晨》節目中播出 。他曾任克利夫蘭音樂學院的教授和駐院藝術家 。他目前居住在紐約 。

殷承宗不僅是西方音樂的優秀詮釋者 , 也創作改編了許多著名的鋼琴作品 。由於他用鋼琴演繹京劇和中國古曲 , 以及對《黃河》鋼琴協奏曲的貢獻 , 使他成為了家喻戶曉鋼琴家 。他的《黃河》鋼琴協奏曲唱片獲得了金唱片獎 。此唱片已經達到超過三百多萬張的銷量 , 並在50幾個國家經常播出 。他並且成為了列入1980年出版的《新格羅夫音樂和音樂家詞典》的四位中國音樂家之一 。

殷承宗錄製了20多張唱片 , 包括近期錄製的肖邦作品的唱片和德彪西前奏曲的唱片 , 以及柴可夫斯基的《四季》和中國古曲與京劇兩張音樂發燒碟 。與聖彼得堡交響樂團錄製的《黃河》與柴科夫斯基第一鋼琴協奏曲也已於2005年出版發行 。

由於殷承宗的不懈努力 , 第四屆柴可夫斯基國際青少年音樂比賽於2002年在中國廈門舉行 。殷承宗任總評委會主席 。2004年 , 殷先生還擔任了第三屆中國國際鋼琴比賽評委 。

2005年是殷承宗先生從藝55週年紀念 , 殷先生在北美和中國十幾個主要城市進行了巡迴演出 , 並分別於9、10月份在北京民族文化宮和紐約卡內基音樂廳演奏了他主創並首演的《黃河》鋼琴協奏曲 , 以紀念該曲創作35週年 。迄今為止 , 他已在卡內基大廳舉辦了七次專場演出 。

2006-07年 , 他參加了中國國家交響樂團建團50週年音樂節的開幕和閉幕演出 , 尤其是07年7月在香港回歸十週年慶典期間 , 他與中國愛樂樂團合作演出《黃河協奏曲》  , 引起了極大轟動 。另外 , 在07年春天 , 他應邀赴澳洲演出 , 獲得很大成功 , 完成了他在五大洲演出的心願 。

2008年新春他與中國國家交響樂團合作在中國國家大劇院音樂廳參加全球轉播的新春音樂會(鳳凰衛視主辦) , 向全世界展現《黃河》風采 。5月份他參加澳門藝術節開幕首場演出 。07-08年 , 殷承宗總結性地推出以樂派、作曲家為主題的10套音樂會曲目 , 計劃用3-5個演出季完成 , 現首推的2套曲目已經在中國和北美完成60餘場 。在08-09年的演出季他將繼續推出新的曲目 。

(2009)

 



Thank you for your generous contribution to
Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts


中華表演藝術基金會
Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
Lincoln, Massachusetts