Pianist Hung-Kuan Chen presented by FCPA

Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts - presents
Hung-Kuan Chen, piano
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Live at NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

https://www.chineseperformingarts.net...

0:00:24 Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 - Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Busoni)

Franz Peter Schubert: Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960
0:06:22 Molto moderato
0:22:01 Andante sostenuto
0:33:13 Scherzo, Allegro vivace con delicatezza
0:37:09 Allegro, ma non troppo

0:46:54 Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, BWV 886 - Johann Sebastian Bach
0:52:52 Prelude in A-flat Major, Op. 28, No. 17 - Frédéric Chopin
0:56:22 Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61 - Frédéric Chopin
1:11:25 Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 - Alexander Scriabin

Encores: Frédéric Chopin
1:25:04 Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 59, No. 1
1:29:28 Nocturne No. 16 in E-flat Major, Op. 55, No. 2
1:34:38 Prelude in F-sharp Major, Op. 28, No. 13

Pianist Hung-Kuan Chen’s career—as well as his life—has been a vivid example of the concept of yin-and-yang. In Chinese philosophy, apparent opposites are actually complementary: each fulfills a need in the other; one cannot exist without the other. Mr. Chen embodies a synthesis of seeming opposites that coalesce into a unique artistic personality.

Hung-Kuan Chen was born in Taipei and raised in Germany. He established a strong connection to Germanic Classicism in his early studies, which he integrated with the sensibility of organic Chinese philosophy. “I’m Chinese by birth,” he says, “but I’m actually more European. I’ve read and studied a tremendous amount of the great literature and language of Germany.”

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 in 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.

Mr. Chen has performed in many of the world’s foremost concert venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the Tonhalle in Zürich, the Herkulesaal in Munich, the Sala Verdi in Milan, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Shanghai Concert Hall, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. He was the first to perform the Rachmaninoff Third and Beethoven Fourth Piano Concertos in Taipei and gave the Shanghai premiere of the Bartók Second Piano Concerto. His plans for the 2015–2016 season include performances in China and Switzerland.

Hung-Kuan Chen has enjoyed fruitful artistic collaborations with 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 knowledge and love of music. “Teaching and performing complement each other,” he declares, noting how sharing ideas deepens artistic understanding.

Mr. Chen is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School and is a visiting professor at Yale, and is also on the faculty for Artemisia Akademie at Yale. He previously served as Chair of the piano department of Shanghai Conservatory and was on the faculty of New England Conservatory. He has adjudicated major international piano competitions including the Van Cliburn, Busoni, Shanghai, and Honens.

In 1992, Hung-Kuan Chen suffered a hand injury which caused neurological damage and eventually resulted in focal dystonia. Through meditation and his own research, he was able to heal and return to the concert stage. His first post-accident solo recital in 1998 received rave reviews.

A many-faceted individual, Hung-Kuan Chen has painted and drawn, danced, and played several other instruments. He brings the same curiosity and dedication to both spiritual and worldly pursuits.

Patrick Keating, audio & video
photo: Chung Cheng