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

27.09. 17:00
"Haus der Begegnung" Königstein

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata c-Moll, BWV 911

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

Frédéric Chopin, Bolero c Major, Op. 19

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturnes op. 9

Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Suite op. 14

Claire Huangci, piano

29.09. 19:00
Konzerthaus Blaibach

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata c-Moll, BWV 911

Johann Sebastian Bach, Orgel-Toccata in d-Moll BWV565 (arr. F. Busoni)

Frédéric Chopin, Bolero c Major, Op. 19

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphonie Nr. 6 (Transkirption F. Liszt)

Claire Huangci, piano

05.10. 19:30
Stadttheater Lindau

Ludwig van Beethoven, Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 „Eroica“ E-flat major Op. 55, for piano quintet (1803)

Claire Huangci, piano

25.10. 19:30
Wiener Konzerthaus

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata in D Major BWV 912

Frédéric Chopin, 24 Préludes op. 28

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata A major, D 959

Claire Huangci, piano

27.10. 20:00
Berliner Philharmonie

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata in D Major BWV 912

John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy (1976)

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata A major, D 959

Claire Huangci, piano

28.10. 18:30
Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata in D Major BWV 912

John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy (1976)

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata A major, D 959

Claire Huangci, piano

28.10. 21:00
Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata in D Major BWV 912

John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy (1976)

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata A major, D 959

Claire Huangci, piano

06.11. 19:30
Frauenthal Center

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

Claire Huangci, piano

Scott Speck, conductor

West Michigan Symphony Orchestra

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)

The young pianist Claire Huangci, winner of the first prize and the Mozart prize at the Geza Anda Competition in 2018, 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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reviews

[Claire Huangci’s] piano skills are just as astoundingly sophisticated and deeply felt as her stylistic sensibilities.
Musik und Theater, Werner Pfister, January/February 2020, on the Paderewski-Chopin Orchestra CD

In the rising cadenza [in the first movement of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 53], [Claire Huangci] brings the kind of depth of virtuosity that makes a good pianist outstanding.
Luzerner Zeitung, Roman Kühne, 4/01/2020

[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 1

Bach:	Toccatas c minor BWV 911 and D major BWV 912
Mozart:	Sonata B major KV 333
Schubert:	Piano Sonata D 958 / D 959 / D 960

Programme 2

Beethoven:	Piano Sonata d minor Op. 31 No. 2
Chopin:	Piano Sonata No. 2 b minor Op. 35
Mussorgsky:	Pictures at an Exhibition

Programme 3

Corigliano:	Etude-Fantasy
Brahms:	Two Rhapsodies Op. 79 / Hungarian Dances
Ravel:	Le Tombeau de Couperin
Gershwin:	Rhapsody in Blue

Trio Machiavelli - ith Solenne Païdassi, violin / Tristan Cornut, cello

Debussy:	Piano Trio G major
Tschaikowsky:	Piano Trio a minor Op. 50

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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

music, music, music

Six years after its opening, the Konzerthaus Blaibach is confronting the difficult conditions under which concert life currently stands with a diverse musical series of 115 concerts. Through the end of November, Maximilian Hornung, Claire Huangci, Ilya Gringolts, Gabor Vosteen, Mahan Esfahani, das GrauSchumacher Piano Duo und Yeree Suh, among others, will be guests in the Bavarian Forest.

At the end of August, pianist Claire Huangci and soprano Yeree Suh already performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony in Czerny's version for piano four hands at the opening concert in Blaibach. Maximilian Hornung then travels to the Upper Palatinate for portrait concerts with solo, duo and trio pieces. Both can be heard in Blaibach at the end of September and beginning of October with further concerts.

Under normal conditions, the architecturally and acoustically outstanding Konzerthaus Blaibach can accommodate 200 visitors*. This unique project was initiated by the baritone Thomas E. Bauer and the Kulturwald gGmbH.

Dates:
12 and 13/9/2020, Maximilian Hornung
29/9/2020, Claire Huangci
3 and 4/9/2020, Maximilian Hornung
29 and 30/10/2020, Ilya Gringolts
31/10 and 1/11/2020, Gabor Vosteen
8/11/2020, Mahan Esfahani
21 and 22/11/2020, Grau Schumacher Piano Duo
28 and 29/11/2020, Yeree Suh

Magazine

From Solo to Duo and Trio: Claire Huangci

"I'm one of those people who always want to discover something new, that's why I like to occupy myself with diverse repertoire," Claire Huangci explained to us two years ago in an interview. At the moment, her the path to “the new” means, among other things, not only mastering great works in pianistic solitude or working with orchestras as a guest soloist, but also seeking new challenges with musical partners. Accordingly, she will be performing as a chamber musician in many places in the coming weeks: With her Trio Machiavelli in Bayreuth, and in piano duos with Alexei Volodin at the Elbphilharmonie and with Mario Häring in Blaibach. And as the first fruit, so to speak, of this orchard that has been growing for quite some time, she will release a chamber music CD in mid-August....

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.”...