Sunday Afternoon Piano Recital: Tony Yan Tong Chen

COVID-19 UPDATE
3rd September 2020: Under the current Alert Level 2 guidelines, this concert is expected to proceed as planned.

2019 Wallace National Piano Competition Winner Tony Yan Tong Chen, student of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York, presents a solo recital featuring works by Beethoven, Liszt, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev.

“Here was Liszt playing of a positively blazing conviction and intensity … It is rare to encounter such a high-energy performance of this massive work that sails so close to the edge but still remains integrity.” - WNPC Adjudicator Charles Owen

Admission by Koha.

Program

Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Beethoven
I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Après une lecture de Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata
Liszt


Sonata No. 4 in F Sharp Major, Op. 30
Scriabin
I. Andante
II. Prestissimo Volando

The Seasons, Op. 37
Tchaikovsky
I. January, At the Fireside
XI. November, Troika (Sleigh)

Sonata No. 7 in B flat major, Op. 83 “Stalingrad”
Prokofiev
I. Allegro Inquieto
II. Andante Caloroso
III. Precipitato

Biography

Since winning the the 2019 Wallace National Piano Competition, 20 year old Tony Yan Tong Chen has been forging a reputation as one of New Zealand’s most exciting and versatile emerging pianists. Born in Auckland, his former piano teachers have included Bryan Sayer, Rae de Lisle, Able Zhu, and Jenny Jung. He currently studies with Professor Alan Chow at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York as a recipient of the Howard Hanson and Martha Stone Scholarships, and has also been studying with NZSM Senior Lecturer Dr. Jian Liu in Wellington. He was the winner of several regional competitions in Auckland, Te Awamutu, Hamilton, and Tauranga, and won scholarships from the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, Waikanae Music Society, IRMT, and Manukau Symphony. Since moving to the United States, Tony has been awarded 2nd Prize (Alternate Winner) in the MTNA Young Artist Competition in New York and been a participant in the Marian Garcia International Piano Competition.

With the support of Professor Jack Richards, Tony has attended festivals in Canada (Orford), Switzerland (Blonay), and Spain (Valencia), where he has concertized in prominent venues and performed in masterclasses for distinguished pianists including Jerome Lowenthal, Alexander Kobrin, Douglas Humpherys, Boris Slutsky, Pavel Nercessian, Edith Fischer, Pierre Reach, John Perry, Anton Nel, and Jean Saulnier, among others.

At Eastman, he has been named to the Dean’s List for outstanding academic achievement, and his numerous other academic awards have included Cambridge International Examinations Top Achiever awards for 4 A Grades at A Level and the highest mark in New Zealand for AS and A Level music, NZQA scholarships in music and english literature, and prizes at the Visual Art Exhibition for acrylic painting. At the end of his time in highschool, he undertook an audition tour of the United States and was subsequently awarded competitive scholarships to four top music conservatories including the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee College of Music (Boston Conservatory).

Recital sponsored by Professor Jack C Richards, Ph.D; D. Lit (Hon)