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[中文, chinese version]
Mr. Chen received his first piano lessons from his father when he was
five. He began his career as a concert pianist at age ten with the
Taipei Symphony Orchestra. At the age of thirteen, he was chosen by the
Taiwanese government from a national talent search and sent to Vienna,
Austria, where he later obtained a Concert Diploma. He then went on to
receive a Konzert Examen from Musik Hochschule (The highest honor of
Diploma in performance) of Hannover in Germany. He continued further
study under Lazar Berman and participated in Murray Perahia's
masterclass.
Mr. Chen has been awarded top prizes and recognitions in the
Rubinstein International Competition in Tel Aviv, Manresa, Stresa,
Bellini, and Rome. He is also the prize winner in the Bachauer
International Competition in Salt Lake City, as well as Rachmaninoff (Italy), Vienna (Austria), Callas (Greek), Chopin (Warsaw, Poland). Madame
Rubinstein personally presented Mr. Chen his prize in Tel Aviv. Chen
has had personal audiences with Presidents Wojciech Jaruzelski and
Itzhak Rabin.
In
1994, he was named the Principal Soloist of the "Moldova" Iasi and
Tirgu Mures Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania. He has appeared as
soloist with many renowned orchestras such as the National Polish Radio
Symphony, Utah Symphony, Budapest Symphony, Prague Symphony, Moscow
State Symphony, Russian State Symphony, Ukrainian State Symphony,
Romanian National Radio Symphony, Goettingen Symphony, Singapore
Symphony, the New Philharmonia Japan, Shanghai
Symphony, National Taiwan Symphony, Taipei Symphony, and London Chamber
Players, amongst others. In 1998, he was invited to be the Soloist with
the Taipei Symphony on their Asian Tour. He was also the designated
Soloist of the 75th Anniversary of Turkey and in 2001 was honored
at the official celebration of the 2nd Anniversary of Macao's Regression to China.
Chen has also worked with many of today's leading conductors, among
them; Sergiu Comissiona, J. Silverstein, A. Ligeti, A. Wit, G. Delogu,
and P. Kogan.
Since
Mr. Chen's European debut in 1984 at the Grossensaal of the Konzerthaus
in Vienna, he has made appearances at many festivals such as the
International Salzburg Music Festival, Vienna Spring Festival,
Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Janacek Music Festival (CZ), Hong
Kong Festival, Taipei Music Festival, Taipei Arts Festival,
International Rachmaninoff Music Festival Moscow, Janacek Music
Festival Czech, Chopin Festivals in Austria, Czech and Poland and
several Festivals in Romania. Sponsored by various institutes, e.g. the
International Chopin Society, he tours regularly throughout Asia,
Europe, and the U.S.A.
He
has performed at celebrated concert halls in the world such as the
Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Gewandhaus Leipzig, the
Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Opera de Monte Carlo, the Warsaw
Philharmonie, the Bolshoi Hall in Moscow, the F. Mann Auditorium Tel
Aviv, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Symphony Hall in Osaka, the Hong
Kong Cultural Center, the Beijing Music Hall, and the National Chiang
Kai-Shek Cultural Center.
In
1983, Chen was awarded the "Boesendorfer" prize in Vienna. In 1989,
heas chosen by the Minister of Culture in Taiwan as "Best Young Artist". Mr.
Chen was invited by the president of Taiwan, His Excellency Mr.
Teng-Hui Lee to his Festival Concert at the Presidential Palace. The
National radio and television networks also broadcast this concert. He
also received honorary distinctions from the Czechoslovakian Chopin
Society in 1990, and from the Salzburg Festival in 1991. In that same
year, Mr. Chen won the "Albert Roussel Prize" in Paris and the "Taiwan
Millennium Best Artistic Performance Award" in 2000.
Mr.
Chen has produced CD recordings with labels such as Universal, Naxos
International, KKM Austria, Zruden Music and Better Music. These
recordings include works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff,
Stravinsky as well as his own transcriptions. Since 2002, Mr. Chen has
been the Artist-in-Residence of Hong Kong Radio Television. His
concerts are often broadcast in radio and television throughout Europe,
Asia, America and Australia.
Mr.
Chen is also an active chamber musician and has performed with
well-known chamber groups such the Lark Quartet and Shanghai Quartet.
Mr. Chen has also given master classes in acclaimed conservatories such
as the New England Conservatory in Boston, and the Masterplayer
International Music Academy in Lugano. Mr. Chen also serves as a jury
member of international piano competitions.
Mr.
Chen has been praised by various renowned musicians including Maestro
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Alicia de Larrocha who described Chen's
playing as "magnificent" and "full of promise." After Chen's masterful
performance of Rachmaninoff's second Piano Sonata during a piano
competition, he received masterful praise from the New York Times
critic Harold C. Schonberg. Mr. Chen also received monumental praise
from his completion of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos in two
consecutive nights and left a lasting impression on the audience.g
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