Han Chen Solo Piano Recital: Infinite Staircase
$23
- Han Chen, piano
György Ligeti — Étude No. 15: White on White
György Ligeti — Étude No. 8: Fém
Molly Joyce — Push and Pull (world premiere)
Chiayu Hsu — Intricate rhythm on an Amis song (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 1: Désordre
Tom Morrison — no way out but through (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 4: Fanfares
Shiuan Chang — Selected works (world premiere)
Meng Wang — Shadows, trailing… (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 10: Der Zauberlehring
György Ligeti — Étude No. 17: À bout de souffle
Nicholas Bentz — Machine #1 (world premiere)
David Fulmer — Selected works (new work TBA; world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 12: Entrelacs
György Ligeti — Étude No. 5: Arc-en-ciel
Gity Razaz — Fragmentation of Memory (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 16: Pour Irina
György Ligeti — Étude No. 18: Canon
Jessie Cox — Black Noise Canon (world premiere)
Victoria Cheah — Étude: months (world premiere)
Jihyun Kim — Selected works (new work TBA; world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 11: En suspens
György Ligeti — Étude No. 2: Cordes à vide
Fjóla Evans — Campanology (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 9: Vertige
Jared Miller — Prelude (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 3: Touches bloquées
Nina C. Young — Selected works (new work TBA; world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 6: Automne à Varsovie
Sugar Vendil — pag-aaral: galing na ibon (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 7: Galamb borong
Tengku Irfan — Columna finita (world premiere)
Xinyang Wang — L'escalier du Parnasse (world premiere)
György Ligeti — Étude No. 13: L'escalier du diable ("The Devil's Staircase")
György Ligeti — Étude No. 14: Columna infinita
The National Sawdust presents the up-and-coming pianist Han Chen in an unusual solo recital on Sunday evening, September 24, at 7:30pm. Entitled "Infinite Staircase," this recital celebrates the iconic Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti's centenary birthday in 2023. Mr. Chen juxtaposes the composer's 18 Études with eighteen world premiere solo piano works he commissioned from composers of diverse cultures and backgrounds: Nick Bentz, Shiuan Chang, Victoria Cheah, Jessie Cox, Fjóla Evans, David Fulmer, Vivian Fung, Chiayu Hsu, Tengku Irfan, Molly Joyce, Jihyun Kim, Jared Miller, Tom Morrison, Gity Razaz, Sugar Vendil, Meng Wang, Xinyang Wang, and Nina Young.
The concert coincides with Mr. Chen's recent release of the complete Ligeti Piano Etudes on the Naxos label, which was a Critic's Pick in the August 2023 issue of Gramophone.
About Han Chen, piano
Pianist Han Chen has emerged among the new generation of concert pianists as a uniquely fearless performer in a wide variety of musical settings. Gold Medalist at the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, he has 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." Chen's virtuosity is enriched by a probing commitment to new and lesser-known works as well as the great cornerstones of the piano repertory. This vision is clearly evident in his four solo Naxos CDs focusing on Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Thomas Adès, and more recently, György Ligeti's Complete Piano Études. As soloist with orchestra, Chen’s appearances include the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony, China Symphony and Xiamen Philharmonic. He made his Lincoln Center debut with Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall in December 2022 performing Mozart's early masterwork, the Piano Concerto No. 9 "le Jeunehomme." Chen has performed as solo recitalist throughout Europe, North America, and China. In frequent demand as a chamber musician, Chen is a core member of Ensemble Échappé while regularly collaborating with The Metropolis Ensemble and other adventurous groups in performances in America and abroad. In 2021, Chen launched Migration Music, an ongoing series of interviews and performances featuring 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 represented by Black Tea Music.
https://www.hanchenpiano.com/