Sa Chen
The only Chinese pianist winning prizes in both the Leeds Piano Competition and the International Chopin Piano Competition, Sa Chen is considered the most musically sensuous pianist to emerge from that country in recent memory. Schooled by professor Dan Zhaoyi of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, one of China’s most respected piano teachers, Sa has already made a tremendous impact in Europe. She shares with Lang Lang and Yundi Li the distinction of being named one of the top three Chinese virtuoso pianists today by the legendary Fou Ts’Ong: “I will be happy if they do better than me.”
Pianist Sa Chen has been delighting audiences in European countries, China, Japan and the United States. Her first major performance was in 1996, when at the age of 16, she was seen live on BBC Television, competing in the Final of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony. The British public was captivated.
Sa Chen was born in China in 1979 in a musical family. She began her musical studies at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and then at the Shenzhen School of Arts with Prof. Dan Zhaoyi in both places. In 1994, Chinese President Jiang Zemin listened to her performance and interviewed her along with Prof. Dan. After her success in Leeds in 1996, she was subsequently offered a scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where she has been studying with Prof. Joan Havill and obtained Master Degree in Performance. Since 2001, Sa Chen lives in Hanover/Germany, studying in Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hannover with Prof. Arie Vardi.
Major awards and honors began in 1994 for Sa Chen, when she won first prize at the 1994 China International Piano Competition. Winning fourth prize in the Leeds Piano Competition 1996 as the youngest contestant in the competition, marked the beginning of Sa Chen’s international career. This was followed by Second Prize at the Dudley Millennium Competition 2000 and at Guildhall: the 1999 Spender Boney Memorial Prize, Silver Medal and Crystal Glass Trophy in the Gold Medal Concerto Competition 2000, First Prize of the Beethoven Competition 2000, and the Concert Recital Diploma Premier Prix of Guildhall 2000. Her most recent award was at the 14th International Chopin Piano Competition in October 2000, at which she claimed the Best Polonaise Performance Award as well as the Fourth Prize, overall.
Her solo assignments have taken Sa Chen to many of the European music centers: London (Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room), Warsaw (Philharmonic Hall), Milan (the Sala Verdi), Berlin (Broadcast Hall), Linz (Bruckner Hall), Basel (Foundation Beyeler Museum and Vitra Design Museum), Copenhagen (Louisiana Museum). Sa Chen has also given concerts in the United States (her U.S. debut took place in April 2002), Canada, Asia (incl. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo), in Tel Aviv and at Sydney Opera House in ustralia. Among the many festivals she has visited are the Duszniki Chopin Festival, Louisiana Museum, Le Musiques festival. As well as in China, her appearances were in Beijing Music Festival, Steinway Piano Competition Festival, and Gulangyu Piano Festival.
As a soloist, Sa Chen has worked with many celebrated conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Ilan Volkov, Kazimierz Kord, Muhai Tang, Long Yu, several of whom have already offered return engagements. She has played with the City of Birmingham Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, among others. She regularly tours in Japan. In 2000 and 2001, she was invited for over 20 concerts throughout Japan and she was selected in the prestigious Tokyo series “The 100 Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century”. In 2003-2004 season, she was invited as performance partner by renowned violinist Gidon Kremer to many occasions. She also gave concerts for Chopin Society in U.S. Sa Chen’s debut disc “Chopin Impression” was released in 2003 under the JVC label.
Sa Chen was invited to perform with Gidon Kremer, Nicolaj Znaider in Kronberg Chamber Music Festival and Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus in last summer. She also performed in the opening concert of 2004-2005 season of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, as well in the reopening concert of the legendary Shanghai Concert Hall.
The artist will perform the following program:
- F. Schubert – Sonata in A major, D.664, Op. 120
- R. Schumann – Carnaval, Op. 9
Intermission
- F. Chopin -Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58.
Vladimir Ovchinnikov
Akiko Ebi
Antti Siirala
Nelson Freire