Claire Huangci

Piano

contact

Xenia Groh-Hu

xh(at)karstenwitt.com

+49 30 214 594-224

Lisa Böttcher

lb(at)karstenwitt.com

+49 30 214 594-226

General Management

Dates

13.12. 20:00
Salle Molière Lyon

Franz Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy, in C major, Op. 15 (D760)

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonate Nr.14 c-Moll KV 457

Sergej Rachmaninow, Preludes (Auswahl)

Claire Huangci, piano

04.01. 15:00
Tonhalle Maag

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 E-flat major, Op. 73

Claire Huangci, piano

04.01. 18:30
Tonhalle Maag

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 E-flat major, Op. 73

Claire Huangci, piano

05.01. 15:00
Tonhalle Maag

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 25, C major, KV 503

George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue für Klavier und Orchester

Claire Huangci, piano

16.01. 19:00
NorrlandsOperan, Umeå

Ludwig van Beethoven, Klavierkonzert D-dur op. 61a (Transkr. des Violinkonzerts)

Sergej Prokofjew, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16

Claire Huangci, piano

NorrlandsOperan Symphony Orchestra

18.01. 19:00
Tonhallen Sundsvall

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Franz Schubert, Impromptus, Op. 142

Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dances (selection)

Sergej Rachmaninow, Preludes (Auswahl)

Claire Huangci, piano

19.01. 15:00
Ursulinenconvent

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonate Nr.14 c-Moll KV 457

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dances (selection)

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata A major, D 959

Claire Huangci, piano

24.01. 19:00
HDI Versicherungen Hannover

Claire Huangci, piano

Solenne Paidassi, violin

Tristan Cornut, violoncello

02.02. 17:00
Ronneby Kulturcentrum

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne B major, Op. 9, No. 3

Frédérik Chopin, Nocturne C minor op.48, No.1

Sergej Rachmaninow, Préludes Op.23, No.5-7

Clara Schumann, Soirées musicales, Op. 6 (Toccatina, Notturno, Polonaise)

Robert Schumann, Phantasie op. 17

Claire Huangci, piano

05.02. 19:00
Best Western Plus Hus 57 Ängelholm

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne B major, Op. 9, No. 3

Frédérik Chopin, Nocturne C minor op.48, No.1

Sergej Rachmaninow, Préludes Op.23, No.5-7

Clara Schumann, Soirées musicales, Op. 6 (Toccatina, Notturno, Polonaise)

Robert Schumann, Phantasie op. 17

Claire Huangci, piano

07.02. 19:00
Kulturkvarteret Kristianstad

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne B major, Op. 9, No. 3

Frédérik Chopin, Nocturne C minor op.48, No.1

Sergej Rachmaninow, Préludes Op.23, No.5-7

Clara Schumann, Soirées musicales, Op. 6 (Toccatina, Notturno, Polonaise)

Robert Schumann, Phantasie op. 17

Claire Huangci, piano

11.02. 20:00
Schloss Ritzebüttel, Cuxhaven

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne B major, Op. 9, No. 3

Frédérik Chopin, Nocturne C minor op.48, No.1

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Franz Schubert, Impromptu F minor, Op. 142 No. 1, D 935

Franz Schubert, Impromptu f-Moll op.142, Nr.4, D 935

Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dances (selection)

Claire Huangci, piano

16.02. 17:00
Burgdorfer Schloss

César Franck, Sonata for Cello and Piano in A major Op. 120

Claude Debussy, Cello Sonata in D minor, L 135

Robert Schumann, Fantasiestücke für Violoncello und Klavier op. 73

Robert Schumann, Allegro und Adagio für Violoncello und Klavier op. 70

Astor Piazzolla, Le Grand Tango for Piano and Violoncello

Claire Huangci, piano

Tristan Cornut, violoncello

18.02. 13:00
Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung Hanover

Maurice Ravel, Trio for piano, violin and violoncello

Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op.49

Claire Huangci, piano

Tristan Cornut, violoncello

Solenne Paidassi, violin

22.02. 18:00
Schloss Stadthagen

Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for piano K260, 13, 124, 125, 144, 454, 470, 284

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor Op. 49 No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major Op. 49 No. 2

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne B major, Op. 9, No. 3

Frédérik Chopin, Nocturne C minor op.48, No.1

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Franz Schubert, Impromptu F minor, Op. 142 No. 1, D 935

Franz Schubert, Impromptu f-Moll op.142, Nr.4, D 935

Claire Huangci, piano

23.02. 17:00
Logensaal, Biel

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor Op. 49 No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major op. 2 No. 3

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major Op. 49 No. 2

Ludwig van Beethoven, Klaviersonate Nr. 21 C-Dur op. 53 'Waldstein'

Claire Huangci, piano

26.02. 20:00
Zentrum Bayreuth

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonate Nr.14 c-Moll KV 457

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dances (selection)

Sergej Rachmaninow, Prelude Op. 3, No. 2

Sergej Rachmaninow, Préludes Op.23, No.5-7

Sergej Rachmaninow, Préludes Op. 32, No. 4-6

Claire Huangci, piano

28.02. 20:30
Auditorio de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela

Manuel de Falla, Noches

Claire Huangci, piano

Real Filharmonía de Galicia

04.03. 19:30
Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg

Manuel de Falla, Noches

Claire Huangci, piano

Real Filharmonía de Galicia

07.03. 16:00
Församlingshemmet i Flen

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonate Nr.14 c-Moll KV 457

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Clara Schumann, Soirées musicales, Op. 6 (Selection)

***

Sergej Rachmaninow, 13 Preludes, Op. 32 for piano solo

Claire Huangci, piano

08.03. 16:00
Konstakademien Stockholm

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonate Nr.14 c-Moll KV 457

Frédérik Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor Op. 23

Clara Schumann, Soirées musicales, Op. 6 (Selection)

***

Sergej Rachmaninow, 13 Preludes, Op. 32 for piano solo

Claire Huangci, piano

biography

If looking for characteristics of Huangci’s piano playing one finds them in her superior focus, imaginative abilities, and the resulting poetics of her interpretation.
(Thomas Schacher, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

Claire Huangci, the young American pianist of Chinese descent and 2018 Geza Anda Competition first prize and Mozart prize winner, has succeeded in establishing herself as a highly respected artist, captivating audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Her unusually diverse repertoire, in which she also takes up rarely performed works, is illustrative of her remarkable versatility.

Claire Huangci has performed in solo recitals and in partnership with international orchestras such as the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, RSO Vienna, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and Moscow Radio’s Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, and at international concert venues including Carnegie Hall, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gasteig Munich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, la Salle Cortot, Suntory Hall Tokoyo and Franz Liszt Akademie Budapest. She has made guest appearances at festivals such as the Kissinger Sommer, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Rheingau Musik Festival.

In the 2019/20 season, the pianist makes her debut at the Lucerne Festival, Philharmonie de Paris and Festspielhaus Salzburg, returning with recitals to the Elbphilharmonie, the concert halls in Vienna and Berlin, Ruhr Piano Festival and MDR Musiksommer. She also performs with the orchestras of the Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Bochumer Symphoniker and the Baseler Kammerorchester as well as internationally, travelling from Scandinavia to Spain and Portugal and on to Poland, Russia, Asia, and Latin and North America.

Claire Huangci began her international career at the tender age of nine with concert performances and competitive successes. She received significant input from her teachers Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and then studied under Arie Vardi at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover. She especially stood out early in her artistic career as an expressive interpreter of Chopin’s music, winning first prizes at the Chopin Competitions in Darmstadt and Miami in 2009 and 2010. She also became the youngest participant to receive second prize at the International ARD Music Competition in 2011.

After recording her debut CD with solo works of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev and her prizewinning double album of Scarlatti sonatas (German Record Critics’ Award and Gramophone Editor’s Choice), she released highly acclaimed recordings of Chopin’s Nocturnes in 2017 and in 2018 of Rachmaninoff’s complete Préludes: "Numerous songs without words unfold here […]. Everything becomes part of a narrative flow that at the same time perfectly captures Rachmaninoff’s creative essence and intentions" (Marco Frei, Piano News). Following recordings of Beethoven's violin concerto in the piano version and Fantasia for piano and orchestra by Schubert / Kabalewski with the RSO Vienna, her first orchestral album with the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken under Shiyeon Sung was released in autumn 2019: this recording of the early piano concertos by Chopin and Paderewski shines with a dynamic, youthful energy on both beloved and lesser-known works.

2019/2020 season

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.

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Photos

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reviews

[Claire Huangci] gives an arc to her interpretation of the four pieces [of Schubert's Impromptus op. 142]. Distinguished, delicate, in a flowing melodic current, full of dramatic shading and expressive modulations.
Schwäbische Zeitung, Gerd Kurat, 1/9/2019

Stylistic idiosyncrasies are addressed with a subtle but never intrusive meticulousness, and overall [Claire Huangci] proves to be a lively musical draftswoman who, with a clever pianistic sense of proportion, is able to give each piece its characteristic form.
Musik und Theater, Werner Pfister, May/June 2019 edition, about Rachmaninoff CD

Bringing equal measures of elegance and athleticism to the keyboard, Huangci proved herself every bit the “rock star” that Liszt himself was. […] Huangci’s strength, stamina, technique, and expressive power were absolutely jaw-dropping.
Masslive.com, Clifton Noble Jr., 24/3/2019

Her performance of [Rachmaninoff] Préludes is brilliant, clear, and flowing, with a remarkable sense of polyphonic structures while at the same time poetic and dynamic in the tonal qualities.
Pianist, first edition 2019, Mario-Felix Vogt, 15/3/2019

If looking for characteristics of Huangci’s piano playing […] one finds them in her superior focus, imaginative abilities, and the resulting poetics of her interpretation.
NZZ, Thomas Schacher, 2/3/2019

Numerous songs without words unfold here […]. Everything becomes part of a narrative flow that at the same time perfectly captures Rachmaninoff’s creative essence and intentions […]: absolutely worth a listen.
Piano News, Marco Frei, January 2019

Huangci plays [Beethoven's Piano Cpncerto Op. 61a] with bell-clear precision [...]. The first movement comes along singing and sparkling, exquisitely delicate in certain moments, woven into the orchestra, and then returning with breathtaking virtuosity and incredibly precise trills at a nearly inconceivable tempo [...] free of pathos and affectation.
Bochumer Zeitung Online, 9/12/2018

Her Schubert has lyrical grace and extroverted power, compelling effects and soft vocalism. […] Schubert has rarely been heard so thrilling, so modern, so replete with tension.
Badische Zeitung, Roswitha Frey, 27/11/2018

Claire Huangci´s fine and delicate virtuosity, well-rounded emotionality, and elegant shaping let these gems of the piano repertoire shine with a harmonious lightness. Rachmaninov is seldom played so empathically and lucidly.
BR Klassik Online, Michael Schmidt, 13/11/2018

[In the recording of all préludes by Sergej Rachmaninow Claire Huangci] has managed a wonderfully balanced dramaturgy of eruptive features and contemplative pausing - calmly and without big gestures, but decidedly pointed.
Frankfurter Journal, Cited as a Top 1 CD release, October 2018

Claire Huangci’s fanciful, highly intimate and refined playing [captures] the Shakespearean summer night magic and takes works by Beethoven, Scriabin and Chopin on a magical journey.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stephan Schwarz-Peters, 9/7/2018

In [Huangci’s] interpretation, Beethoven's Opus 61a became the perfect addition to his "official" piano concertos.
Fono Forum, Thomas Schulz, July 2018

Her Mozart Concerto was captivating, a flawless performance with lively, sparkling runs, and an abundance of musical ideas.
SRF, Moritz Weber, 13/6/2018

A whirlwind at the keyboard with an immense enthusiasm for playing, the pianist has also developed a musicality and a colour-rich tone, which, along with her apparent technical ease, is merely a springboard for a wholly individual musical conception.
Rondo, Christoph Forsthoff, February 2018

In Claire Huangci’s playing, the flow of the music does not run away with itself or become arbitrary, but rather remains intensely alert: her attack is delicate yet distinct. (…) Claire Huangci follows the poetry of the cycle sensitively, taking care to differentiate the polyphonic voices. Irresistible yet always considerate and alert, Claire Huangci lets herself become captured by the magic of [Chopin’s] music.
PianoNews, Hans-Dieter Grünefeld, September 2017

She’s aware of the importance of Chopin’s Classical side and there are many instances where she favours restraint over cheap emoting, which is much to the good. There’s also a real range of interpretation, which makes the set consistently appealing. (…) One of the most impressive readings here is of the C minor Nocturne, Op 48 No 1, in which an innate solemnity grows to extraordinary depths in Huangci’s hands. (…). An impressive addition to the Chopin catalogue from a pianist from whom I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more.
Gramophone, Harriet Smith, July 2017, on the Chopin-CD

Huangci plays Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel op. 24 accurately, precisely, virtuosically, and from time to time shrewdly accentuated, with an expansive tone that is never applied too thickly.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Andreas Pernpeintner, 9/4/2017

Do we need another recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes? Not really! But when one hears this brand new double-CD from Claire Huangci, which comes out on 5th May, the answer is yes!
Süddeutsche Zeitung, CD-Tipp, 6/4/2017

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Orchestral repertoire

J. S. Bach	Piano Concerto in D minor BWV 1052
C. Baker	From Noon to Starry Night, Concerto for Piano and Chamber
	Orchestra
B. Bartók	Piano Concerto No. 3 in E major Sz. 119, BB 127
L. v. Beethoven	Piano Concertos
	No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
	No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
	No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
	No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
	No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor Concerto"
	No. 6 in G major, Op. 61a
	Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op. 80
	Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56
L. Bernstein	Symphony No. 2 'The Age of Anxiety' for piano and orchestra
J. Brahms	Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
F. Chopin	Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
C. Debussy	Fantasy für Piano and Orchestra
C. Franck	Symphonic Variations, M. 46
G. Gershwin	Rhapsody in Blue
	Piano Concerto in F major
E. Grieg	Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
J. Haydn	Piano Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII: 2
	Piano Concerto in G major, Hob. XVIII: 4
F. Liszt	Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S. 124
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S. 125
	Hungarian Fantasy in E major for piano and orchestra, S. 123
	Totentanz (Dance of death), S. 126
C. Meijering	ISIS Concerto for piano and orchestra
F. Mendelssohn	Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40
W. A. Mozart	Piano Concertos
	No. 9 in E-flat major, K.271 "Jeune homme"
	No. 13 in C major, K.415
	No. 17 in G major, K.453
	No. 18 in B-flat major, K.456
	No. 19 in F major K.459
	No. 20 in D minor, K.466
	No. 21 in C major, K.467
	No. 23 in A major, K.488
	No. 24 in C minor, K.491
	No. 26 in D major, K.537
	No. 27 B-flat major, K.595
	Rondo D major, K.382
F. Poulenc	Concerto for two pianos in D Minor, FP 61
S. Prokofiev	Piano Concertos
	No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10
	No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
	No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
	No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 53 (for the left hand)
	No. 5 in G major, Op. 55
S. Rachmaninoff	Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
	Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
	Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40
	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor, Op. 43
M. Ravel	Piano Concerto in G major
	Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand)
A. N. Scriabin	Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 20
C. Schumann	Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7
R. Schumann	Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
C. Saint-Saëns	Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
	Rhapsodie d'Auvergne, Op. 73
D. Shostakovich	Piano Concerto No. 1 for piano, trumpet and string orchestra
	in C minor, Op. 35
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102
R. Strauss	Burleske in D minor
I. Stravinsky	Capriccio for piano and orchestra
P. Tschaikovsky	Piano Concerto No. 1 in B minor, Op. 23
	Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44
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recital programmes

Programme I

Mozart	Sonata No. 13 in B Major, K. 333
Chopin	Sonata No. 2 in B Minor, Op. 35
Schubert	Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894
	or
Tchaikovsky	Sleeping Beauty Suite
	or
Rachmaninov	Preludes

Programme II

Bach	Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
Mendelssohn	Fantasy in F Sharp Minor, Op. 28 'Sonate écossaise'
Beethoven	Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 'Waldstein'
	Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101
Liszt/Wagner	Tannhäuser Overture

Programme III

Corigliano	Etude-Fantasy
	or
Rochberg	Variations
Brahms	Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79
	Hungarian Dances (Selections)
Ravel	Tombeau de Couperin
Gershwin	Rhapsody in Blue

Programme Quartet

Claire Huangci (piano), Solenne Paidassi (violin), Adrien Boisseau (viola), Tristan Cornut (cello)
Mahler	Piano Quartet in A Minor
Fauré	Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15
Chausson	Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 30

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media centre

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discography

Paderewski & Chopin: Piano Concertos

Claire Huangci
Berlin Classics, B07T4RYMLT, 2019

Rachmaninov Preludes

Claire Huangci
Berlin Classics, 0301075BC, 2018

A Chopin Diary

The Complete Nocturnes
Berlin Classics, 0300905BC, 2017

Claire Huangci · Domenico Scarlatti

Piano Sonatas
Berlin Classics, 885470006031, 2015

The Sleeping Beauty

Works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Prokofiev
Berlin Classics, 885470005621, 2013

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Links

Website

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News

dialogue between composers

The award-winning young pianist Claire Huangci, together with the conductor Shiyeon Sung and the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, dares to perform an unusual repertoire. On her new album, which was released on 23 August by Berlin Classics, she juxtaposes the two early piano concertos by I.J. Paderewski and F. Chopin.

The result is an inspiring dialogue between two composers who are as different as they are extraordinary. Claire Huangci, as a masterful interpreter, brings to life the youthful energy of the works, along with the longings and raw emotions of the music.

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Video

Magazine

Claire Huangci: in the studio with Rachmaninov

„I get very nervous when I am making records (...) when the stage is set for the final recording and I realise that this will remain for good, my hands get tense.“ No, this isn’t Claire Huangci, who recently recorded Sergei Rachmaninov’s complete piano preludes for Berlin Classics, but rather the Russian composer himself who admitted to nerves. One of the greatest pianists of his time, Rachmaninov made landmark recordings of both his own works and music by other composers, but always had a certain mistrust of sound recordings.Nearly a hundred years later, committing any works to disc still presents its own exciting challenges. This is especially true in the case of the preludes, which are not only technically difficult, but since many of the individual works are relatively unknown, the whole cycle has been rarely recorded in its entirety. Claire Huangci confirms this: “There are a couple of favourites which everybody knows, and everybody plays. These few preludes, which Rachmaninov recorded himself, overshadow the rest of the cycle. I find this a great pity – for me, there isn’t a single prelude that is a little sub-par. Every piece is simply so unique and a small masterpiece in its own right.”...