"The Bechstein concert grand I had the chance to perform on at the piano series in Berlin Konzerthaus was phenomenal in its sound culture; it took on a life of its own after each touch."
Claire Huangci
The young American pianist Claire Huangci embarked on an international career at the age of nine, receiving grants, performing in concert, and winning prizes. She was the youngest participant at the 2011 Internationaler ARD Wettbewerb, where she was awarded Second Prize. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman and, starting in 2007, at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover under Arie Vardi, becoming his assistant after she graduated.
At the beginning of her career she was noted for her highly expressive interpretation of works by Chopin and won First Prize at the Chopin competitions held in Darmstadt (2009) and Miami (2010). Since then she has broadened her repertoire considerably and also interprets works by contemporary composers.
Claire Huangci has performed in the world’s most famous venues (Carnegie Hall/New York, Konzerthaus/Vienna and Berlin, Gasteig/Munich, Gewandhaus/Leipzig, Salle Cortot/Paris, Oji Hall/Tokyo, Symphony Hall/Osaka), both solo and together with great orchestras (Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart directed by Roger Norrington, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Münchner Kammerorchester, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, formerly the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra). She has also participated in a number of music festivals, such as Kissinger Sommer, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Schwetzinger Festspielen). In 2081, she was awarded the First Prize and the Mozart Prize, which is sponsored by Musikkollegium Winterthur, at the renowned Concours Geza Anda.
Following her successful performances at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Klavierfestival Ruhr during the last season, she is to perform during the 2018/19 season together with the Berner Sinfonieorchester directed by Mario Venzago, then at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Tonhalle Maag in Zürich and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Claire Huangci recorded her first CD with works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, and then a double album with sonatas by Scarlatti that was awarded two prizes (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and Editor’s Choice of the Gramophone magazine). Her third CD, with Nocturnes by Chopin, was released in the spring of 2017 and was warmly welcomed by the public. Her fourth album released in 2018 under the Berlin Classics/Edel label contains all Préludes by Rachmaninoff.
Fotos © Gregor Hohenberg und Mateusz Zahora
