Fearless performer with seemingly limitless imagination and possessed with uncanny energy, pianist Han Chen plays scores old and new with rare rigor and insight.
A GRAMMY® nominee for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, Chen was recognized for his recording of Florence Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement with conductor John Jeter and the Malmö Opera Orchestra, released on Naxos Records.
Alex Ross, classical music critic of The New Yorker, who selected Mr. Chen's Naxos disc of the Ligeti Études and Capriccios as a "Notable Classical Recording of 2023," characterized him as follows:
The Taiwanese pianist Han Chen, a noted interpreter of the Ligeti Études and other modernist repertory, has made a blistering album of the [Liszt] opera transcriptions.— The New Yorker, September 4, 2023
Attending Mr. Chen's recent traversal of the 18 Ligeti Etudes and 18 commissioned world premieres, George Grella titled his review: "Han Chen's remarkable playing equal to the genius of Ligeti's Etudes" and went on to exclaim:
He is astonishing, with some of the finest pianism one has ever witnessed.— New York Classical Review, September 25, 2023
Gold Medalist at the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, Mr. Chen has also been praised by Gramophone as "impressively commanding and authoritative" and further cited by The New York Times for his "graceful touch," "rhythmic precision" and "hypnotic charm." He has appeared as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, China Symphony Orchestra, and Xiamen Philharmonic.
Han Chen has studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Wha Kyung Byun, and Ursula Oppens at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and CUNY Graduate Center. He is a Steinway Artist and is represented by Black Tea Music.
A fearless performer with seemingly limitless imagination and possessed with uncanny energy, pianist Han Chen plays scores old and new with rare rigor and insight.
Chen is a GRAMMY® nominee for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his recording of Florence Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement with conductor John Jeter and the Malmö Opera Orchestra, released on Naxos Records. The nomination recognizes both Chen's virtuosic performance and his advocacy for the rediscovered works of Florence Price, one of the most significant American composers of the twentieth century.
Alex Ross, classical music critic of The New Yorker, who selected Mr. Chen's Naxos disc of the Ligeti Études and Capriccios as a "Notable Classical Recording of 2023," characterized him as follows:
The Taiwanese pianist Han Chen, a noted interpreter of the Ligeti Études and other modernist repertory, has made a blistering album of the [Liszt] opera transcriptions.— The New Yorker, September 4, 2023
Attending "Infinite Staircase," Mr. Chen's recent traversal of the 18 Ligeti Etudes and 18 accompanying world premieres, George Grella titled his review: "Han Chen's remarkable playing equal to the genius of Ligeti's Etudes" He continued:
…he was astonishing, with some of the finest pianism one has ever witnessed. Beyond sheer dexterity, this was tremendously musical playing, with every phrase clear and pointed in a certain direction, fluid control of dynamics and form, a combination of articulation and force that was hard to believe. One had the feeling that Chen was deep inside the work, opening up every detail of Ligeti's musical personality. His energy and stamina within each Étude and through the whole concert were extraordinary.— New York Classical Review, September 25, 2023
Reviewing this event in I Care If You Listen, Lana Norris described it as
…a marathon of canonical music and new works that displayed exquisite programming, stupendous technique, and forward-thinking expansion of classical music's best traditions.— I Care If You Listen, September 28, 2023
Gold Medalist at the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, Mr. Chen has also been praised by Gramophone as "impressively commanding and authoritative" and further cited by The New York Times for his "graceful touch," "rhythmic precision" and "hypnotic charm."
Mr. Chen's musical vision is reflected in his acclaimed solo recordings for Naxos, including albums devoted to Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Thomas Adès, and György Ligeti's Complete Piano Études. Reviewing the Ligeti recording in the August 2023 issue of Gramophone, Jed Distler wrote:
[He is] one of the few pianists who handles both gnarly contemporary scores and over-the-top Romantic showpieces with equal authority and style...he surmounts the sophisticated rhythmic challenges of Ligeti's Études to a T, while infusing them with plenty of tonal allure and personality. Chen aims for clarity and balance over sheer speed, yielding steadier results and more cogent interplay between the hands. Within the gorgeous expanding and contracting textures of 'Cordes à vide,' Han makes expressive points through voicing and hand balance alone...[and exhibits] meticulous and consistent détaché/sostenuto differentiation throughout 'Fanfares.' He patiently spins out the shifting rhythmic patterns of 'Entrelacs' as if the keyboard were an expansive and seamless canvas.— Gramophone, August 2023
Mr. Chen is equally compelling in the classical repertoire. Reviewing his performance of Beethoven's Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier,” Lee Eiseman of The Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote:
Oxygenated by powerful intellectual bellows and endowed with muscular forearms, Chen didn't just hammer Beethoven's formidably relentless and ever-modern challenge to pianists and listeners; with fire and tempering plunges he alternately annealed, welded, sintered, and sensitively stretched the well-wrought iron into impressive curls and shapely forms. His carefully plotted interpretations conveyed nuance and compelling gesture through very well-graduated colorations and dynamics from white hot to warmly glowing. No two repeated chords sounded the same. Chen's Beethoven seemed to anticipate Berg and Ligeti on this night.— The Boston Musical Intelligencer, August 19, 2023
As a soloist, Mr. Chen has appeared with orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, China Symphony Orchestra, and Xiamen Philharmonic. In December 2022 he made his Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall with the Riverside Symphony performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9, Jeunehomme.
In demand as a chamber musician, he is a core member of Ensemble Échappé and regularly collaborates with Metropolis Ensemble. In 2021, Chen launched Migration Music, an ongoing series of performances and interviews exploring the experiences of immigrant composers.
Han Chen has studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Wha Kyung Byun, and Ursula Oppens at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and CUNY Graduate Center. He is a Steinway Artist and is represented by Black Tea Music.