Frederic Chiu
Encyclopedia
Frederic Chiu is a Chinese American
classical
concert pianist
.
. He studied music and computer science
at Indiana University
, then pursued his musical studies in New York
at the Juilliard School
, where he studied with Abbey Simon
. During his studies he won numerous piano competitions, including the Kosciuszko Foundation
Chopin Piano Competition and the Music Teachers National Association
Competition, both in 1984. He was awarded the American Pianist Association Fellowship (formerly known as the Beethoven Foundation).
, where he lived for 12 years. His career developed without entering the circuit of international piano competitions. His recording career began in 1991 with Harmonia Mundi USA, with the well-received release of a program of piano transcriptions. He followed that with a large project of recording the complete Piano Sonatas
of Sergei Prokofiev
. His recorded repertoire includes Mendelssohn
, Rossini, Chopin, Liszt
, Grieg, Brahms, Ravel, Decaux
, Schoenberg
, Schubert, Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns.
He recorded the Liszt transcription for solo piano of the Beethoven Symphony #5.
In 1993, he entered the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
, where his exclusion from the final round created enormous media coverage. He was invited increasingly to play in the United States, where he eventually returned to live.
Highlights of his performances include concerts with the BBC Concert Orchestra
and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
, the Indianapolis
Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony
, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Hartford Symphony, the Orchestre de Bretagne of France, the China National Symphony, and the Taipei National Symphony. He has played recitals in many major cities in Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, South America and North America. In chamber music, he frequently performs with long-time friend Joshua Bell. Other artists he has collaborated with include the St Lawrence Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, the Daedalus Quartet, cellist Gary Hoffman, violinist Pierre Amoyal and clarinetist David Krakauer.
He has given master class
es at major universities and music schools around the world, including the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory and the Jacob School of Music at Indiana University. Frederic Chiu also created a series of workshop
s entitled "Deeper Piano Studies" that approach piano playing through non-traditional methods uniting different philosophies of music, performance and learning.
Chiu is a Yamaha Artist
.
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
concert pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Education
Chiu was born in Ithaca, New YorkIthaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. He studied music and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, then pursued his musical studies in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, where he studied with Abbey Simon
Abbey Simon
-Education:Simon began lessons with David Saperton at the age of five. At the age of eight, Simon was accepted by Józef Hofmann as a scholarship student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he trained with fellow classmates Jorge Bolet and Sidney Foster. Simon also took lessons...
. During his studies he won numerous piano competitions, including the Kosciuszko Foundation
Kosciuszko Foundation
Kosciuszko Foundation is a charitable foundation based in New York City. It was created by Stephen Mizwa to fund programs that promote Polish-American intellectual and artistic exchange.-History:...
Chopin Piano Competition and the Music Teachers National Association
Music Teachers National Association
-Membership:Its membership consists of approximately 22,000 independent and collegiate music teachers. MTNA headquarters are in downtown Cincinnati on the 31st floor of the Carew Tower.- MTNA structure :...
Competition, both in 1984. He was awarded the American Pianist Association Fellowship (formerly known as the Beethoven Foundation).
Career
After his studies, he moved to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he lived for 12 years. His career developed without entering the circuit of international piano competitions. His recording career began in 1991 with Harmonia Mundi USA, with the well-received release of a program of piano transcriptions. He followed that with a large project of recording the complete Piano Sonatas
Piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
. His recorded repertoire includes Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Rossini, Chopin, Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
, Grieg, Brahms, Ravel, Decaux
Abel Decaux
Abel Decaux was a French organistand composer. He studied organ with Charles Widor and Alexandre Guilmant and composition with Jules Massenet. For twenty five years from around 1900 he was organist at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, in Paris. In 1923 he went to the United States of America, to teach...
, Schoenberg
Schoenberg
Schoenberg is the surname of several persons:* Arnold Schoenberg , Austrian-American composer* Claude-Michel Schoenberg , French record producer, actor, singer, popular songwriter, and musical theatre composer...
, Schubert, Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns.
He recorded the Liszt transcription for solo piano of the Beethoven Symphony #5.
In 1993, he entered the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
, where his exclusion from the final round created enormous media coverage. He was invited increasingly to play in the United States, where he eventually returned to live.
Highlights of his performances include concerts with the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is a broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation , it is the oldest full-time professional orchestra in Scotland...
, the Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony
Kansas City Symphony
The Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets...
, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Hartford Symphony, the Orchestre de Bretagne of France, the China National Symphony, and the Taipei National Symphony. He has played recitals in many major cities in Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, South America and North America. In chamber music, he frequently performs with long-time friend Joshua Bell. Other artists he has collaborated with include the St Lawrence Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, the Daedalus Quartet, cellist Gary Hoffman, violinist Pierre Amoyal and clarinetist David Krakauer.
He has given master class
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es at major universities and music schools around the world, including the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory and the Jacob School of Music at Indiana University. Frederic Chiu also created a series of workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s entitled "Deeper Piano Studies" that approach piano playing through non-traditional methods uniting different philosophies of music, performance and learning.
Chiu is a Yamaha Artist
Yamaha Artist
The term Yamaha Artist refers to musical instrumentalists who choose, officially, to play any of a large group of Yamaha musical instruments....
.