
LUCILLE CHUNG
PIANO
GALLERY | BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | CONCERTO | DISCOGRAPHY | LINKS
GALLERY
Photography Lisa-Marie Mazzucco
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BIOGRAPHY
Canadian pianist, Lucille Chung, has been declared “a first-rate pianist…and a name to watch” (AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE). From an early age, Ms. Chung has been making her mark on the classical music scene. She made her debut performance with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of ten, and a few years later claimed first place in the Stravinsky International Piano Competition. With performances described as “brilliant, crystalline” (BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE) “stylish and refined” (GRAMOPHONE), Lucille continues to build her reputation as a world-class pianist.
Since her early success, Ms. Chung has performed with over 50 leading orchestras around the world including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, KBS Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerífe, Staatskapelle Weimar, UNAM Philharmonic (Mexico), Lithuanian Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Flemish Radio Orchestra as well as all the major Canadian orchestras, such as Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, National Arts Centre, Calgary, Winnipeg, among others. She has also appeared with prestigious conductors including, Krzysztof Penderecki, Vladimir Spivakov, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Charles Dutoit to name a few.
In solo recital, Lucille has appeared in the finest concert halls including, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre, Washington’s Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection, the Myra Hess Series in Chicago, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Wigmore Hall in London, and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional. Festival appearances include, the Felicja Blumental Festival in Israel, ChangChun Festival in China, MDR Summer Festival in Dresden, the Bard Festival in New York, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and the Santander International Festival, where she recently premiered the 6 Piano Etudes by I.D. Martínez.
Ms. Chung has received excellent reviews worldwide for her recordings of the complete works of Ligeti. In addition, her recording of Scriabin piano works on the Dynamic label garnered the maximum 5 Stars from the BBC Music Magazine and Fono Forum in Germany, as well; it received the R10 rating from Répertoire Classica in France. Recently, Lucille embarked on an exclusive contract with Disques XXI. Her latest recording, features transcriptions of Camille Saint-Saëns and has already earned critical praise and been broadcast on the radio internationally.
Lucille graduated from both the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School before the age of 20. She then furthered her studies in Europe at the “Mozarteum” in Salzburg, Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” Weimar and Accademia Pianistica in Imola, Italy, where she worked with the late Lazar Berman. The recipient of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council of the Arts, Lucille was awarded an Honors Diploma from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She was also recently named “Honorary Professor” of the Jilin Arts College in China and is on the faculty of the Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas. Fluent in French, English, Korean, Italian, German and Russian, Lucille and her husband, pianist Alessio Bax, are artistic co-directors of the Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation and perform together regularly as part of the Bax-Chung Piano Duo.
(as of May 2010)
REVIEWS
“…riveting, illuminating, fiery, transcendental pianism…”
- NEW YORK CONCERT REVIEW
“Ms. Chung, a first-rate pianist by any standard and a name to watch.”
- AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
“Chung exudes grace and poise at the keyboard, directing all of her energy toward making the music speak clearly.”
- TORONTO STAR
“…Chung’s blazing gutsy performance was exciting and rewarding…”
- THE WASHINGTON POST
“Lucille Chung’s stylish and refined performance…with imperturbable clarity and insight.”
- GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE
“Lucille Chung’s brilliant, crystalline performances are certainly very impressive indeed.”
- BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
“…a bravura display of extroversion and sensitivity.”
- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Chung's concert is one to remember - This petite pianist plays with a power twice her size. Twenty years from now, it won’t be her that you remember, but her performance.”
- BUDAPEST WEEK MAGAZINE
“Elle allie la science à la spontanéité, avec une technique invisible. C’est tour l’art du naturel.
- RÉPERTOIRE, France
PREFERRED CONCERTO LIST
2010-2011
Adams Grand Pianola Music
Bach Concerto BWV 1056
Bartók Rhapsody Op. 1
Beethoven Concerto No. 2, No. 3 & No. 5
Brahms Concerto No. 1
Chin Piano Concerto
Chopin Concerto No. 1
Franck Les Djinns- Poème symphonique
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
Grieg Concerto
Ligeti Concerto for Piano
Liszt Concerto No. 1
Litolff Concerto symphonique Op.102 "Scherzo"
Mendelssohn Concerto No. 1, Concerto No. 2
Mozart Concerto K. 271, K. 414, K. 459, K. 466, K. 488, K. 488 & Concerto K. 365 for Two Pianos
Piazzolla The Four Seasons
Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos
Prokofiev Concerto No. 1, Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 1, Concerto No. 2
Ravel Concerto in G Major
Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2, "Africa" for Piano and Orchestra, “Wedding Cake" for Piano and Orchestra, Carnival of the Animals
Schumann Concerto in a minor
Scriabin Prometheus: Poem of Fire
Shostakovich Concerto No. 1
Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Winds
Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1
Recital repertoire available upon request
Master classes and workshops available
Other concerti available upon request
DISCOGRAPHY
Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Transcriptions XX1 CD 2-1682
The Fazioli Concert Hall Series Fazioli Series
Scriabin Piano Works Dynamic CDS 416
LIGETI - Works for piano, two pianos and piano four hands Dynamic CDS 434
György Ligeti: Piano Works Dynamic CDS 358
Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals FWSO Label
Felix Mendelssohn CD RIC 29989
Lucille Chung: Début Recording Palexa Label
LINKS
Artist Website
www.lucillechung.com
Recording Label
www.xxi-21.com
ACADEMIC AFFILIATION
SMU Meadows
www.smu.edu
INSTRUMENTALISTS
Piano
Lucille Chung*
Jane Coop
Michael Kim
James Parker
Wonny Song*
Piano Duo
Anagnoson & Kinton
Violin
Martin Beaver
Alexandre Da Costa*
Erika Raum
Cello
Kaori Yamagami
Bassoon
Nadina Mackie Jackson*
ENSEMBLES
Piano Trio
Gryphon Trio
Trumpet & Bassoon Duo
guy&nadina*
Violin & Piano Duo
Da Costa & Song*
NARRATOR
Colin Fox
WORLD MUSIC
Indian Ghazals & Punjabi Folk Songs
Kiran Ahluwalia*
Cuban Music Ensemble
Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet*
SPECIAL PROJECT
Music-as-Theatre
The Schumann Letters*
*First AKAM Season