Tzu-yi Chen (occasional western name usage: Zoe Chen; Chinese: 陳孜怡; born 1984[1]) is a Taiwanese-American classical pianist and lecturer.

Tzu-yi Chen
陳孜怡
Background information
Born1984
GenresClassical
Instrument(s)Piano
Member ofNew Asia Chamber Music Society, Distinguished Concerts International New York
Websitehttps://www.tycpiano.com/

Career edit

Chen's 2014 solo Carnegie Hall debut, which took place in Weill Recital Hall,[2] garnered a rave review from the New York Concert Review.[3] So did her 2019 duo performance there, as half of Renaissance Duo, with pianist Lan-In Winnie Yang[4] and her 2022 appearance there in Stern Auditorium with a percussion ensemble performing an arrangement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.[5] The presenter in all three of these Carnegie Hall appearances was Distinguished Concerts International New York.

In 2017, Chen traveled with the New Asia Chamber Music Society (NACMS) to Ascunçion as part of the closing events of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Paraguay.[6] She appears on the society's 2018 CD, Unforgettable Memories, recorded live at the Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Hall in New York City.[7][8][9] In 2020, she performed with the NACMS at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art.[10]

Performances with professional orchestras include Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 1999 as part of the 20th Jie Shou Guan concert on the grounds of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei;[11][12] Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto in D-minor, No. 3, Op. 30 with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra in 2001[13] and again in 2012;[14][15] Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra in 2015, superlatively reviewed;[16] and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Space Coast Symphony in 2016.[17]

She has performed at the Taiwan National Concert Hall (Taipei),[18] the Church of the Epiphany (Washington, D. C.),[19] and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art (Auburn, Alabama) for its A Little Lunch Music series,[20] among others.

Education and Awards edit

Chen graduated from The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.[21] In 2001, she won sixth prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Young Artist division.[22] In the Fourth International Piano Competition of Mauro Paolo Monopoli in Barletta, Italy, in 2001, she shared First Absolute Prize with Roberto Corlianò.[23]

In 2006 she earned the Premier Prix in music performance from the Paris Conservatory, having studied with Jacques Rouvier and Prisca Benoit.[21][14]

In 2009, Chen completed requirements for the Solistenexamen (Soloist Exam) course of study at of the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, studying under Michael Uhde.[21][14][24] That same year, Chen won fourth prize in the IX Darmstadt International Chopin Piano Competition.[25]

From 2011-2013, while living in Columbus, Georgia, Chen studied with Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner Alexander Kobrin at Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music, earning the Artist Diploma.[2][20][14] While a student there, in 2013 she was among 133 pianists worldwide to be invited by the Van Cliburn competition to audition for its 14th edition.[26] In 2014, she won the scholarship competition of the Atlanta Pro-Mozart Society.[27]

In 2015 at the seventh annual Liszt-Garrison Festival & International Piano Competition in Baltimore, Chen won the Béla Bartók Award, shared second place in the Artist Category with Sejeong Jeong and shared a special Franz Liszt prize with Sarah Mi-Eun Kim.[28]

In 2023, Chen published Departure, Conflict, and Rebirth in the Musical Language of Franz Liszt, a dissertation for the Doctor of Musical Arts she earned at the University of Maryland. There, she studied under Bradford Gowen.[29]

References edit

  1. ^ "184. Tzu-Yi Chen 陳孜怡". Taiwanese American History. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Chen, Tzu-yi (7 August 2014). "CSU Pianist Alumna to Perform at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall". Columbus State University News. Archived from the original on 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  3. ^ Daykin, Frank (2014-10-14). "Distinguished Concerts International New York presents Tzu-Yi Chen in Review". New York Concert Review Inc. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  4. ^ Daykin, Frank (2019-04-15). "Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist Series presents Renaissance Duo: Tzu-Yi Zoe Chen and Lan-In Winnie Yang in Review". New York Concert Review Inc. Archived from the original on 2024-03-30. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  5. ^ Williams, Jeffrey (2022-06-09). "Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Carmina Burana in Review". New York Concert Review Inc. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ^ "Grupo de la New Asia Chamber Music Society actuará en Paraguay". ABC Color. 5 December 2017. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  7. ^ Unforgettable Memories Album (Video). 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-10 – via New Asia Chamber Music Society.
  8. ^ "New Asia Chamber Music Society 'Unforgettable Memories' Concert at Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Music Center". Ministry of Culture | Taipei Cultural Center in New York. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  9. ^ "NACMS Debut Album: Unforgettable Memories". New Asia Chamber Music Society. 10 May 2024. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019.
  10. ^ "New Asia Chamber Music Society, National Museum of Asian Art". Smithsonian. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  11. ^ "第二十次介壽館音樂會 (The 20th Jie Shou Guan Concert)". Office of the President Republic of China (Taiwan). 10 September 1988. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "介壽館音樂會 (Jie Shou Guan Concert)". GPI 政府出版品資訊網 (Government Publications International Network). September 1999. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  13. ^ "音樂人才庫成果音樂會「初夏.啟程5.0」即日起開放會員免費索票". National Center for Traditional Arts. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d Chen, Tzu-yi. "TZU-YI CHEN ~ 陳孜怡". Academia. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  15. ^ "文化部第五屆音樂人才庫林奕汎、卓家萱及陳孜怡「初夏.啟程5.0」經典演出". National Center for Traditional Arts. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  16. ^ "陳孜怡用鋼琴撼動高雄樂迷 喝彩聲不絕". Central News Agency. 29 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  17. ^ "'Unplayable' Concerto February 6 in Suntree". Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  18. ^ "2016 Jul.-Dec. Program" (PDF). National Performing Arts Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Pianist Tzu-yi Chen: November 30, 2021". YouTube | Epiphany Tuesday Concerts. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b Okamato, Sandra (13 September 2012). "CSU graduate assistant Tzu-yi Chen performs in Auburn today". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Tsai, Yu-chen (11 July 2018). "Pianist Tzu-yi Chen's musical philosophy and life". Taiwanese Association of America Greater Washington Chapter. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Bachauer 2021 International Junior & Young Artists Competition" (PDF). Bachauer. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  23. ^ "The Previous Winners of Mpm Prize". Associazione Artistsico - Culturale, Cultura e Musica, G. Curci. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  24. ^ "2013 Finalists". Paderewski Music Society. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Chopin Piano Competitions in Darmstadt" (PDF). Chopin-Gesellschaft. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Student Pianists from CSU Invited to Audition for Van Cliburn Competition". Columbus State University News. 7 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Scholarship Winners". www.mozartatlanta.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  28. ^ "American Liszt Society Baltimore-Washington Chapter, Nancy Roldán, President, is pleased to present the Liszt-Garrison Festival & International Piano Competition Winners, October 2015" (PDF). Liszt-Garrison Competition. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  29. ^ Chen, Tzu-yi (2023). "Departure, Conflict, and Rebirth in the Musical Language of Franz Liszt". ProQuest. ProQuest 2871567810. Archived from the original on 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-10.