Hung-Kuan Chen

Pianist Hung-Kuan Chen’s life and art have been shaped by the sensibilities of East and West.  Born in Taipei and raised in Germany, he has played in many of the world’s foremost concert venues: Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), the Tonhalle (Zürich), the Herkulesaal (Munich), the Sala Verdi (Milan), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), National Concert Hall (Taipei), and Shanghai Concert Hall, The National Theater and the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing).

One of the most honored pianists of his generation, Mr. Chen won top prizes in the Arthur Rubinstein, Busoni, and Geza Anda International Piano Competitions, and the Young Concert Artists International Piano Auditions. He also won prizes in the Queen Elisabeth, Montreal International Musical and Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Hung-Kuan Chen has enjoyed fruitful artistic collaborations with, among others, Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, George Cleve, Joseph Silverstein, David Shifrin, Roman Totenberg, Cho-Liang Lin, the Shanghai Quartet, Sui Lan and Andrew Parrott. His most meaningful artistic partnership is with his wife, Tema Blackstone, with whom he frequently performs as a piano duo.

Hundreds of students worldwide have benefitted from Hung-Kuan Chen’s deep knowledge and love of music. He is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School, and is on the faculty for Artemisia Akademie. He previously served as Chair of the piano department of Shanghai Conservatory and was on the faculty of New England Conservatory as well as visiting professor at Yale School of Music. He has adjudicated prominent international piano competitions such as the Van Cliburn, Busoni, Shanghai, and Honens. Among notable pianists he has taught or coached are Yuja Wang, Lukas Vondracek, Sean Chen, Maxim Lando and Niu Niu.