Hung-Kuan Chen

Hung-Kuan Chen is a pianist of uncompromising individuality as well as an inspiring pedagogue. Born in Taipei and raised in Germany, Mr. Chen’s early studies fostered strong roots in German Classicism, which he tempered with the sensibility of an organic Chinese philosophy. Chen has won prizes in the Arthur Rubinstein, Busoni, Geza Anda, YCA, Queen Elisabeth, Montreal, and Van Cliburn competitions, and as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant. He is on faculty at Artemisia Akademie at Yale and has taught at the Chinese Foundation for the Arts, Piano Summer Institute in New Paltz, International Music Academy in Liechtenstein, and the AMFS. Prior to joining the Juilliard faculty in 2014 and continuing his professorship at Yale, he was chair of the piano department at Shanghai Conservatory and faculty at the New England Conservatory. Chen has adjudicated international competitions including Van Cliburn, Busoni, Shanghai International, and Honens. In 1992, Chen suffered an injury to his hand, which eventually resulted in focal dystonia. Through meditation and his own unique research, he was able to return to his life as a concert artist. His first post-accident solo recital in 1998 received rave reviews, and he was described as a transformed artist on an exceptional journey.