Praised by The New York Times for his "eloquent sensitivity" and The Boston Intelligencer for his "impeccable technique," pianist Hsiang Tu has graced the audience with his creative programming and wide range of repertoire. Hsiang is currently working on the complete cycle of piano solo works by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and thematic recitals featuring animal-themed music and opus-one compositions. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Mr. Tu has performed twice as concerto soloist at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and appeared in venues all over the world, including the National Museum Cardiff, National Recital Hall in Taipei, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Museum of Modern Art in New York.
During the 2019-2020 season, Hsiang Tu is scheduled to appear at the New England Conservatory (presented by Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts Boston), Peabody Conservatory Preparatory Division, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of New Hampshire, Wolfeboro Friends of Music in New Hampshire, Utah Valley University, and Beethoven Festival Park City. A winner of The Juilliard School Concerto Competition and a prizewinner at the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the American Paderewski Piano Competition, and the Iowa International Piano Competition, Hsiang has appeared with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and the World Civic Orchestra, among others.
A successful and dedicated teacher, Tu has given masterclasses at Cardiff University, University of Southern California, Penn State University, Loyola University New Orleans, Utah Valley University, and Colorado Mesa University, and his students have won state-wide competitions and been admitted to top graduate schools in the U.S. Hsiang has also adjudicated in state-wide MTNA competitions in New Hampshire and Virginia, U.S. International Music Competition of the Chinese Music Teachers' Associations of Northern California, U.S. New Star Piano Competition, and SummerArts Competition at University of Utah.
Before being appointed as an Assistant Professor of Piano at Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts in 2019, Mr. Tu taught at the University of New Hampshire, Utah Valley University, and Snow College in Utah. He studied with Hung-Kuan Chen, Jerome Lowenthal, and HaeSun Paik, and holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from the University of Calgary and an M.M. and D.M.A. in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School. An avid baseball fan and foodie, Mr. Tu enjoys fantasy baseball, cooking, visiting breweries, and building Lego sets. His debut solo CD, “Bestiary on Ivory,” will be released by Bridge Records in October, 2020.
If you would open any biography of Franz Liszt, you would probably mostly read about his disquiet life as a piano virtuoso, his passionate love life, and the return to his catholic roots at the end of his life. Although all of this might be true, it only scratches the surface of his comprehensive musical personality. Liszt was a pianist, conductor, teacher and organiser, but above all he was a composer of a voluminous, capricious body of work. Even though his piano works formed his core business, he gave rise to the symphonic poem, got rid of the organ's stuffy appearance, and reinvigorated the oratorio. Moreover, with his piano transciptions of Bach's organ works and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, he was an advocate of both old and new music.
Together with his son-in-law Richard Wagner, he was in the forefront of the Romantic movement and anticipated the musical revolutions of the early 20th century with his new composition techniques.
Claude Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with impressionist music, though Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.
Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant
Among his most famous works are his Clair de Lune, his Three Nocturnes and his orchestral piece La Mer.
The music by Olivier Messiaen is a combination of devout catholicism, extravagant imagination and love for nature. Initially, he made a name for himself by composing large-scale cycles and verbose titles. At several occasions, Messiaen explicated his intentions, which often included theology, symbology, and extensive considerations of colour, church modes and rhythm. Perhaps ironically, this colour composer was able to leave his mark on the less colourful avant-garde of the 1950s as well. With his 'Mode de valeurs et d'intensités', part 4 of his Quatre études de rythme, pointed the way for his students Stockhausen and Boulez, who developed serialism further. Messiaen's own development is characterised by the integration of birg song, which he recorded in the wild with his sketchbook and tape recorder. The pinnacle of his work is his opera Saint François d'Assise. This colossol work is over four hours long. Its longest scene contains a giant bird choir, with bird species from Umbria (the home country of Saint François) to new Caledonia.