Program
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Fantasy in F Minor, D940
Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Piano Transcriptions After Schubert
Ständchen (Serenade)
Der Müller und der Bach (The Miller and the Brook)
Die Forelle (The Trout)
~ intermission ~
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Cantéyodjayâ
Percy Grainger (1882–1961): Fantasy on George Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’
Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Piano Transcriptions After Schubert
Ständchen (Serenade)
Der Müller und der Bach (The Miller and the Brook)
Die Forelle (The Trout)
~ intermission ~
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Cantéyodjayâ
Percy Grainger (1882–1961): Fantasy on George Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’
Artists
Pei Chun Liao, piano Pei-Chun Liao is an accomplished concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She began piano lessons at the age of three and proceeded to serious training at the Taipei National University of the Arts, where her teachers were Tai-Cheng Chen and Michael Dellinger. In 2001, Liao moved to Europe and continued her studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Malcolm Wilson and Philip Martin, graduating with Distinction in both her Masters for the Arts and Diploma in Performance Studies. At the Musikhochschule in Freiburg (Germany) she studied with Professor Vitali Berzon and graduated with the highest award, Auszeichnung. Liao continues to work on her craft, and has participated in masterclasses with extraordinary pianists such as Leon Fleisher, Peter Donohoe, Jacques Rouvier, Hans Leygraf, Paul Badura-Skoda, Stephen Kovacevich and Robert Levin, among many others.
Liao has meanwhile made an international career, starting with her UK debut at Birmingham Symphony Hall, where her recital received special critical acclaim. Liao has performed at Manchester Peel Hall, Mozarteum Wiener Saal (Salzburg), Salle Cortot (Paris), Rachmaninoff Hall (Tambov), the Halifax International Young Musician Festival, the Presteigne Music Society, London Forge, Calne Marden House,the Knighton Chamber Music Society, and the Barber Institute (UK). As a soloist, Liao has performed with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and the Hunan Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with internationally renowned musicians including Reinhold Friedrich, Peter Donohoe, Benjamin Frith and Benny Kim, among many others. Liao is a prizewinner at numerous competitions, including 3rd prize at the Taipei Chopin international Competition, the Taiwan Young Artist Competition. In the UK, she won the Beryl Chempin Beethoven Prize, Birmingham Conservatoire Piano Prize, Renna Kellaway Piano Recital Competition, Birmingham Symphony Hall Recital Prize and the Ludlow Philharmonic Concerto Prize. She received 2nd Prize at the 7th Mauro Paolo Monopoli International Piano Competition(2004) in Italy. In 2009, Liao was selected as “Young Star of National Concert Hall” in Taiwan. Liao is active in numerous international music festivals and venues. In 2019, she was invited to join as guest artist at Ball State University, Illinois State University and The University of Tennessee, as well as the Walled City International Piano Festival and Competition in North Ireland. The Beethoven Piano Society of Europe invited her to give a recital and join their Beethoven project at historical Regent Hall in London. This February, she joined the faculty staff of Ameri-China International Piano Festival in New York again, where she taught masterclasses and participated in performances. Liao is currently a full-time associate professor on the piano faculty at University of Taipei in Taiwan. |
Chih-Long Hu, piano A native of Taiwan, pianist Chih-Long Hu‘s performance career was launched after receiving honors including the Taipei National Concert Hall Arising Star, the Chi-Mei Artist Award, and prizes from the Mauro Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy, the Concurs International De Piano D’Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra, the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, and San Jose International Piano Competition in California.
An active performer, Hu performs extensively in Asia, Europe, and America appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His recent performance highlights include concerto performances of Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, Mozart Concerto No.9, Schumann’s Concerto in A, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, solo and chamber recitals in China, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Ireland, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Hu’s performances have been broadcast in “Performance Today” through NPR stations across the U.S. as well as in Taiwan, China and Japan. His CD albums “Formosa Caprices”, “Complete Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux”, and “Goldberg Variations” have received critical acclaims. Recipient of the UT Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award and named “Teacher of the Year” by Tennessee Music Teachers Association, Knoxville Music Teachers Associations, and Appalachian Music Teachers Association, Hu is a committed and passionate teacher. He strives to cultivate and inspire curiosity in human expressions and to help his students discover their individuality through the music. Hu holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from National Taiwan University. His piano teachers include Arthur Greene, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Tai-Cheng Chen. Hu is currently the Sandra G. Powell Endowed Professor of Piano and the keyboard area coordinator at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. |