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“…literally brought down the house with a standing ovation…”
Cincinnati Post

“…that elusive superstar quality that everybody looks for… Musical, energetic and full of flair.”
Jerusalem Post

“The Chopin Rondo in E-flat, Op. 16 was played with elegance and flabbergasting finger work. Speaking in terms of sheer technical brilliance, I don’t recall being as amazed even by Horowitz’s performance of the same work.”
New York Concert Review

“Ching-Yun Hu has everything you need in the pianistic league. In Rachmaninoff, she exposes an emotional structure that is transparent and moving.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)

A “first-class talent” (Philadelphia Inquirer) possessing a “superstar quality — musical, energetic, and full of flair” (Jerusalem Post), Taiwanese American pianist Ching-Yun has been praised by audiences and critics across the globe for her dazzling virtuosity, captivating musicianship, and magnetic stage presence.

At the heart of Ching-Yun’s success is a story of strength, dedication, and resilience that has powered her dream of becoming a world-class artist. Moving to the United States from Taiwan at age 14 without her parents to begin studies at The Juilliard School was the first of many challenges Ching-Yun has overcome in building her illustrious career — one that’s included winning top prizes at the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition, performing on classical music’s biggest stages, and fostering the next generation of musicians as an educator and through entrepreneurial and philanthropic initiatives.

As a soloist, Ching-Yun has astounded audiences across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, performing sold-out concerts at many of the world’s most prestigious venues — including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Taipei National Concert Hall, and Osaka’s Symphony Hall. Concerto engagements have included performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and Taiwan Philharmonic.

With a dedication to making classical music more accessible, Ching-Yun presents captivating programs that tell human stories inclusive of gender and race. By juxtaposing audience favorites with underperformed treasures and newly commissioned works, Ching-Yun’s recitals consistently offer musical and narrative contrasts that encourage people to listen deeply and discover anew the work of even the most well-known composers.

An active recording artist, her debut album on ArchiMusic, Ching-Yun Hu Plays Chopin, was named Best Classical Album of the Year by Taiwan’s prestigious Golden Melody Award, and recordings released on CAG Records/Naxos and BMoP Sound have received overwhelming critical acclaim. Her latest album, Ching-Yun Hu: Rachmaninoff, released on Centaur/Naxos in 2019, received a five-star review by the U.K.’s Pianist magazine, which called the album “essential listening for Rachmaninoff admirers.” 

Ching-Yun is the founder of two piano festivals across two continents: the Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival in Taipei and the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy (PYPA). Now in its 11th year, PYPA has become an important fixture in the classical music world, providing opportunities for young pianists to achieve their dreams of becoming professional musicians while cultivating a deeper appreciation for classical music and serving as a bridge of cultural partnerships between West and East. PYPA’s annual programs include intensive master classes, festival concerts, a yearlong artist-development program, and a faculty composed of internationally celebrated pianists — including Gary Graffman, Simone Dinnerstein, Dang Thai Son, Ursula Oppens, and Jerome Lowenthal.

A tireless advocate for music education, Ching-Yun raised $27,000 for youth education charities through a Hope Charity Concert live-streamed on her Facebook page in June 2020. The all-Liszt program, featuring some of the composer’s most moving transcriptions of German lieder, reached more than 140,000 people across the globe.

A Steinway Artist since 2018, Ching-Yun serves as artist in residence and piano faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia, in addition to her busy schedule leading master classes and artist residencies at universities and music festivals worldwide. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Germany’s Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media, where she studied with Herbert Stessin, Sergei Babayan, and Karl-Heinz Kammerling, respectively.

(long biography, 555 words)